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The scientists of the country and the government are with the “finger on the trigger” in the last hours, in order to proceed if it is considered necessary to impose a strict type of confinement of Elefsina, Aspropyrgos and Mandra in other areas, which are in the “Red”.
The situation in the country, despite the fact that it is going through the sixth week of the confinement, is not what was expected and that is why scientists and government officials emphasize given the opportunity that the measures must be observed with religious reverence and there should be no deviations during of the holidays, since such a thing can be fatal.
Otherwise, they warn, in case of deterioration of the epidemiological situation, the imposition of stricter measures in the areas that “blush” is a fact.
At the same time, in fact, no one rules out the possibility of imposing the new measures even across the country, essentially leading Greece into a very strict third lockdown, by March standards.
This scenario was confirmed today by the government spokesman, Stelios Petsas, leaving open the possibility of taking new stricter measures in the “red zones”.
It is an indirect period of a few days in the epidemiologically burdened areas, before the government “presses the button” of the strictest measures, which we know from today and what they are.
Read also: Scientists’ “Bell” for New Year’s Eve – “Avoid the nine people”
What are the strictest measures?
The Vice Minister of Civil Protection, Nikos Hardalias, today announced lockdown measures similar to those in March for Aspropyrgos, Elefsina and Mandra.
Mr. Hardalias explained that “the situation in some areas of our country continues to be particularly difficult, since the viral load does not decrease, despite the measures we apply to control the spread.”
Thus, starting tomorrow, Friday, December 18, at 06:00 and for seven days, the following will apply:
- Extension of the curfew from 6:00 pm to 5:00 am (6 pm to 5 am) excluding employees and only those who may commute from home to work and vice versa with the exclusive permission of their employer.
- Suspension of the retail operation even with the click away method, hairdressers, manicurists, bookstores and all shops.
- Suspension of all types of ecclesiastical ceremonies of any dogma except the services of the exodus in the presence of close relatives that will not exceed 10 people, as well as the suspension of free access to the temples for individual prayer and the performance of all services of the church only in the presence of the clergy.
- Massive implementation of controls in the population of these areas by means of rapid antigen tests (rapid test) and with in-depth vertical monitoring of confirmed cases and their close contacts. Special emphasis will be placed on the above controls in the areas of Nea Zoi, Neoktista, Ano and Kato Fousa, Goritsa, Sofo of the municipality of Aspropyrgos, but also in the wider area of Elefsina and Mandra.
- Intensification of controls over the employees of companies in the area by the ranks of EODY, the General Secretariat for Civil Protection and the Armed Forces. Encourages and recommends to companies, personnel audits by their own means at the initiative of their owners and to carry out these periodic audits the 0-5-10 model will be followed, that is, the audit of the 1st, 5th and 10th day .
- A molecular test is decided every 5 days in the employees of all the elderly care units in these areas.
- Mass distribution of protective masks by the local government.
- Isolation of confirmed cases that do not require hospitalization, in areas and structures that have already been enabled for this purpose by the General Secretariat of Civil Protection and especially in cases where home isolation is not feasible and presents risks for other members of the family. .
- Suspension of the operation of all public markets in these municipalities, as well as the mandatory control through rapid antigenic tests (rapid test) in shops as a condition for the issuance of work permits in other areas and their periodic inspection every three days.
- Implementation of information campaigns together with the municipalities of these areas and the counter-region and in collaboration with EODY and the General Secretariat of Civil Protection and the participation of scientists from the field of social sciences (psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists) due to the specialized population profile of these areas.
- Intensify comprehensive controls on compliance with the proposed measures and strengthen control mechanisms in these areas.
As Mr. Hardalias said, the measures will take effect from tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. and for seven days, when the continuation or lifting of the specific measures is reevaluated.
What other areas are in “red”
According to the government spokesman in the “red” are:
- West Attica,
- Thessaloniki,
- Blonde,
- Kilkis,
- Pieria,
- Drama,
- Rodopi,
- Grevena,
- Lump,
- Larissa,
- Kozani
According to information from MEGA, the most difficult situation is observed in Kozani, so we expect more in the coming days, while the situation in Drama and Xanthi is very bad.
In all these areas, a great effort is made to control the situation, in order to avoid the strictest measures.
Also read: Attica and Thessaloniki remain “red” – See in detail
What brought West Attica to a severe lockdown?
However, the decision for a hard shutdown in these areas did not erupt like lightning, as infectious disease specialists had been targeting these areas for several days, seeing a strange and unusual increase in both cases and other epidemiological burdens.
According to the MEGA report, what emerges as a conclusion from the tests that were carried out in the area and gives special emphasis is the over-transmission in these areas, where there are special cultural characteristics.
Therefore, in assessing the situation as it was, everyone on the committee agreed that additional measures should be taken, which were announced today. 
“I hope we avoid similar measures in the rest of Attica.”
Athanasios Tsakris, Professor of Microbiology and member of the National Committee for Coronavirus, spoke in the main MEGA newsletter about the course of the pandemic in the country, the new measures in Western Attica, the situation in northern Greece and the holidays.
According to Mr. Tsakris: “During the last special week, a significant increase in cases began to be registered in these areas and the bell sounded that this is very likely to be transferred to neighboring municipalities. There is a significant difference in the cases and the bell has sounded to take additional measures, so that the measures can be delivered in time to limit the spread of the pandemic.
“We also saw in the northern regions of Greece, how quickly the epidemic spread to the different regions due to the movement of workers. “I hope that we avoid similar measures in the rest of Attica, so the measures were taken very quickly,” he added.
“Many areas in northern Greece continue to have problems, such as Kozani, which was one of the areas most affected by the outbreak we had in the country in October. Depending on the existing data, if they are to and will contribute to the restriction, some additional steps should be taken in these areas as well. Thessaloniki is improving, but the NSS has yet to find some kind of regularity. January is a difficult month. “As we know from endemic viruses, January and February are the months that wait to spread,” he said when asked about the epidemiological outlook in northern Greece.
“If we relax during the holidays we will have up to 5,000 boxes a day in January”
“We must not leave our homes at Christmas.” We cannot talk about New Year’s Eve when we have 3,000 in 40 days, “said Achilleas Gravanis, professor of pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Crete.
Mr. Gravanis said yesterday in a statement that if we do not pay attention to the holidays we will enter the new year with a third wave of the virus, with 5,000 cases per day and between 10,000 and 15,000 deaths.
“If we don’t pay attention to the holidays, we will pay with these numbers.”
The third wave will be stronger than the second, according to estimates, since we will be at the peak of other seasonal infections.
“We must not relax,” he stressed speaking to SKAI 100.3.
“We are waiting for the resurgence of the second wave”
The possibility of imposing a harsher lockdown in January, even equivalent to that of March, was left open by EKPA microbiology professor Athanasios Tsakris, as he noted that a further explosion of the coronavirus is expected next month.
“We are entering a difficult month. We may have the vaccine, which is certainly noteworthy and will play an important role in managing the epidemic, but in January we expect a larger outbreak of the virus, with a resurgence of the second wave. It may be worse than what we experienced in November. That is why Europe is preparing to prevent the worst. It has to do with the weather conditions, but also with the coloring during the holidays. Thus, the existing confinement may extend into January or even more , like in March ”, said the professor.
As for the red zones of West Attica, he commented that epidemiological data contribute to the imposition of tougher measures to “prevent the epidemic from spreading very quickly in northern Greece that we saw from prefecture to prefecture.” And there were some distances, whereas here there are no real limits from municipality to municipality ”.
He added, speaking with SKAI, that the picture is similar in some prefectures in northern Greece, such as Kozani.
According to Mr. Tsakris, the increase in cases in these areas is attributed to the fact that there are many factories and workers who move together making it difficult to comply with the measures.
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