Greece confirmed 2,562 new coronavirus infections in the 24 hours to Saturday, taking the total number of confirmed infections since the pandemic began to 455,754.

The country’s wave of new COVID-19 cases has been persistent, with Friday’s tally reaching 2,691, preceded by a week of daily tallies surpassing 2,000.

On Friday, Germany proceeded to classify Greece as a “risk area” for coronavirus infections.

The recommendation announced by the Robert Koch Institute, is for all “non-necessary, tourist travel” to be avoided.

The German agency also said that Germans returning home from the country would be required to show either a vaccination certificate for coronavirus or a negative test. The measures have already been put into effect as of Sunday 18 July.

READ MORE: New rules for Covid-Free restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs apply throughout Greece

Fatalities however in Greece remain relatively low with 7 deaths recorded on Saturday, a slight drop from Friday’s 14.

In the confirmed cases of the last 7 days, 156 infections are related to travel from abroad and 1,705 to other confirmed cases.

Of the country’s total 12,840 pandemic victims since the start of the pandemic, approximately 95% of them had an underlying condition and/or were aged 70 or over.

According to the latest available data, a total of 124 patients are on ventilators in hospitals. Their median age is 66 years and 87.1% have an underlying condition and/or are aged 70 or over.