Greece confirmed 667 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, a negative record for the country since the start of the pandemic. There were 88 cases from known clusters and 45 at the country’s entry points.

University of Athens professor and Health Ministry committee member Gkikas Magiorkinis on Tuesday called on people aged 18 to 40 to be particularly observant of preventative measures. He urged them to wear face masks and observe preventative measures. In recent days, 60-70 per cent of new cases have been aged from 18-39 years.

In bi-weekly briefing, Mr Magiorkinis said there was a definite rising trend in new cases, adding that this was especially notable in Tuesday’s numbers for both Athens (250) and Thessaloniki (125).

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Deaths due to the coronavirus have also increased on average, from around 5 a day to at least 7 or 8 per day, this week. At hospitals there are still 80 intubated patients per day, a number which has remained steady.

He warned that people with O blood type are not immune from the virus, as media reported, while smokers are twice as likely to become infected from COVID-19, and he appealed to them to abstain from smoking at this time.