Greek Health authorities have announced the return of their daily Coronavirus briefings, which were scrapped in late May, as alarms have rung about the single biggest daily jump in new cases in almost two months.
The Health Ministry announced 97 new coronavirus cases since Thursday— 52 in the last 24 hours, the biggest daily increase the country has seen since April 23.
Thirty of the 97 cases involve travelers from aboard, which were detected at airport checkpoints, according to the government’s official report.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has surpassed 3,000 with a total reported cases at 3,049. Two new fatalities were also announced, raising the total to 182.
The spike in cases has led to the decision to resume daily briefings, which had been abandoned. Kathimerini, a pro-government newspaper called the decision to end the daily briefings “what now seems like a premature move.”
On June 1, Greece entered the 6th phase of its re-opening plan with most businesses functioning fully and the start of the official tourist season set to begin on June 15.
The government is reportedly scrambling to react to the latest numbers.
Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said in a TV interview on Skai News that local lockdowns were a possibility, as new cases have appeared throughout the country and not isolated in a single region.
“The virus has not left and that’s why we are taking all the measures, if it had left, we would say that the issue is over, but it isn’t,” Petsas said in the interview, adding that “Every option is on the table. The coronavirus has not left so we should not relax because we had achieved this extraordinary result.”
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