Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced, following a meeting with members of his cabinet and Greece’s regional governors, that all parades on the March 25th national holiday will be cancelled.

The annual parades take place throughout Greece to celebrate the liberation of the country from Turkish rule in 1821. Participants include students from local schools while in Thessaloniki a huge military parade takes place.

Meanwhile, cases of coronavirus increased to 99 in Greece, a day after the government announced the closure of all schools and universities for a two-week period.

The measures are part of the government’s efforts to prevent the virus from spreading as it has in neighboring Italy where more than 800 have died.

The first cases of the deadly virus appeared in Greece after a tour group returned from a pilgrimage to Israel and Egypt. Most members of the group, which originated from a town in western Greece, tested positive and were quickly quarantined and treated.

Greece has not seen deaths yet due to coronavirus. All but two of the patients who tested positive remain in stable condition either in hospitals or in isolation at home.

Neighboring Turkey also reported its first case on Wednesday.