Greece recorded another 2,752 COVID-19 cases on Thursday and 43 deaths prompting the need for additional measures to combat the pandemic.

An overnight curfew will come into effect across the country on Friday, 13 November, Deputy Civil Protection and Crisis Management Minister Nikos Hardalias announced on Wednesday that citizens will need to stay indoors from 9pm to 5am.

They will only be allowed out of the house for work, health emergencies and walking their cats.

Greece is currently observing a nationwide lockdown that went into effect on 7 November and will remain effective through 30 November. During this time, citizens must request a permit for their outings, issued via SMS messaging.

There is a 3-person limitation of people who can exercise together and this needs to be done in close proximity to people’s homes, however this excludes professional athletic training at club level. Sports like game hunting and fishing continue to be prohibited.

Mr Hardalias also announced that as of Friday, all public and private sector organizations and businesses must be able to provide documentation showing that they operate on skeleton staff only and have allowed the majority of their employees to work from home. The minister also recommended that TV stations reduce staff and guests to a minimum at studios at any given time.

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“The coming weeks are very critical,” Mr Hardalias said, and “by limiting unnecessary mobility throughout the country, we are restricting the transmission of the virus, the creation of new clusters and new epidemiological multipliers.”

ICU patients, casualties rise

Greece announced 2,752 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, including 39 identified at the entry gates of the country, the National Public Health Organization (EODY) said on Wednesday.

The number of confirmed infections in Greece since the start of the pandemic totals 63,321 of whom 4,556 are linked to travel abroad and 17,036 to already known cases.

People on ventilators total 297. Their median age is 65 years old, 82.8 pct have an underlying condition or are aged 70 or more, while 82 are women.

Patients discharged from ICUs since the start of the pandemic total 347.

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EODY also said there were another 43 patients who died, bringing the toll of the disease to 909. Of the latter, their median age was 79 years and 96.7 per cent had an underlying condition and/or were aged 70 or more. Of the 909, 360 were women.