The Greek government mandated quarantine measures set to take effect on Saturday for the second time in 2020 as health officials in the country struggle to contain a new outbreak of COVID-19.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he was required to act as health centers reel from an uptick in cases that threaten to make conditions “unbearable” unless the tide is turned against the spread of the disease.
“We must stop this wave,” Mitsotakis said. “I’ve chosen to take drastic measures sooner rather than later.”
The Greek government, which mandated quarantine measures in the spring along with hundreds of other countries around the world, recorded 2,646 new cases of the highly contagious virus and 18 deaths on Wednesday, marking a single-day record for the European nation.
Supermarkets will remain open, but shops are required to close, and restaurants will only be allowed to operate on a delivery-service model. Schools in the country will also remain open, a deviance from the first round of quarantines.
Some have suggested Mitsotakis acted too quickly, but the prime minister defended his action, saying to wait longer would mean allowing the healthcare system in the country to become overwhelmed with patients.
“It could be the case that the measures would have worked, but if they didn’t, then in 15 days, the pressure that would have been exerted on the health system would be unbearable,” he said. “That is something that, I will say it again, I can in no way allow.”
