Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is pleading with Greek citizens to be vigilant and to respect COVID-19 safety measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19). The prime minister says the government’s goal is to stem the pandemic’s spread, without having to impose another lockdown.
As confirmed cases continue to rise in the country, the Mitsotakis administration has been adamant that the rise in cases has little to do with rebooting the tourism sector. Some experts disagree, but the lackadaisical attitude of Greek citizens now can be blamed, at least in part, to the influx of tourists and the mixed signals reopening the country created. Mr. Mitsotakis told a broadcast audience yesterday:
“As the threat to public health flares up again, I invite you to be vigilant without new, general measures throughout the country, but by consistently following those that are already in force.”
Mitsotakis also took the opportunity to justify the current self-protection measures, by saying he would choose this path rather than quarantine. The prime minister insisted that the latter means closed businesses and a recession for Greece. This economic component is the central complaint of those who disagree with half-measures and moves based on tourism revenue to battle the pandemic.
Greek health authorities reported yesterday 342 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number in the country to 16,627. The death toll in the country, so far, has reached 366. These figures are three to three to ten times the numbers recorded before tourism restarted in late June, early July. At that point, Greece was the envy of the world for flattening the COVID-19 curve.