The South African variant of COVID-19 has been detected in Greece prompting top health officials to fly to the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki where it was detected.

The variant, considered to be more contagious than the original type, was detected in a deacon, aged 36.

Greece’s National Public Health Organisation Head Panayiotis Arkoumaneas said screenings would be conducted to identify persons in contact with the deacon.

Proto Thema newspaper reports that the deacon also participated in liturgy, including the rite of Holy Communion at the Metropolis of Neapolis and Stavroupolis.

Authorities on Sunday also said there were 173 cases of people affected with a variant of the virus first detected in the UK.

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Greece appears to be entering a state of fragile equilibrium over the next few months until the vaccination of the most vulnerable groups has progressed, with Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stating that Greece may have dealt with the pandemic better than other countries but that “danger lurks at any moment”.

Restrictions are constantly under review depending on the situation.

Greece recorded 795 new COVID-19 cases overnight on Saturday of which four were identified at entry points in the country. There were 15 new deaths with fatalities in Greece at 5,779 in total.

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Problems at Attica Zoo

In Greece, it is not just the people who are suffering with Attica Zoo, Greece’s only zoo, facing the possibility of extinction due to the fact that there are no paying visitors and not enough government aid to keep it going.

With no paying visitors or — unlike other European zoos — enough government aid to cover its particular needs, the Attica Zoological Park on the fringes of Athens faces huge bills to keep 2,000 animals well-fed and healthy.

“As things are … we still can go on for at least one month,” zoo founder and CEO Jean Jacques Lesueur said, pointing to the large operating costs required to keep 2,000 animals well-fed and healthy. The cost of maintaining the zoo is currently more than $243,000 per month.

Visitors account for more than 99 per cent of the zoo’s revenue, however closures again on 7 November were harsh as the zoo does most of its business during cooler weather.