Greece confirmed another 1,211 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and 12 deaths, bringing fatalities to 615. The majority of deaths during the pandemic have concerned people with an average age of 79 years, and 96.3 per cent had an underlying condition.

Greece’s Deputy Civil Protection Crisis Management MinisterNikos Hardalias said that the infection threat level for the regions of Larissa (central Greece), Thessaaloniki, and Rodopi (NE Greece) will be raised to Level 4, the highest alarm, from 6am Friday (local time)

Hardalias said that self-quarantined individuals include 1,955 confirmed cases and another 4,399 traced contacts in Thessaloniki, 343 active cases and 721 traced contacts in Larissa, and 217 active cases and 488 traced contacts in Rodopi. The average age of the people infected is 35.2 years in Thessaloniki (a rise, in the last few days, he said), 37 in Larissa and 30 in Rodopi.

In addition, he said that the regions of Pella, Evros, Drama, Xanthi, Kilkis, Kavala, Pieria, Imathia and Chalkidiki – all in northern Greece – will rise to level 3 (orange) on Friday. Messinia and Arcadia in the Peloponnese, he said, would be upgraded in alarm level 2 from level 1 (‘green’ to ‘yellow’).

READ MORE: Greece records 1,259 COVID-19 cases in unprecedented negative record

Commenting on the rise in infections, the minister said that the average age of infected individuals and daily contact tracing data link these infections to entertainment, sports and other social crowding events.

The government’s strategy is to evaluate shifting data on a daily basis and adapt, he said, as infections are rising at greater speed in this second wave of the pandemic. This requires preparedness, vigilance and immediate action by the government and observance of measures by the public, he said.

According to data released, the highest infection rates are in Attica (335 cases) and Thessaloniki (275). Larissa and Serres had 51 new cases each on Thursday; Rodopi 41; Kozani, Xanthi and Messinia (southern Greece) had 30 each; Drama 24; Evros 23; Kavala 19; Ioannina 18; while the following regions had 12 to 15 each: Pella, Kilkis, Kastoria, Imathia, Achaia (southern Greece), Iraklio (Crete), and Pieria.

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Retail stores

Retail stores will be closed on Sunday, 1 November, due to the pandemic.

The General Secretariat for Trade and Consumer Protection of the Development and Investment Ministry informed consumers and companies that, due to the emergency measures taken to address and limit the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus, the stores will not open on Sunday, 1 November.

Therefore, the interim sales will be held from 2 November to 15 Νοvember.