What will apply from Saturday morning across the country (video)

The Deputy Minister of Civil Protection and Crisis Management, Nikos Chardalias, gave clarifications on the measures that will be in force in the country from Saturday 7 November at 6 am, as part of the general lockdown announced.

As of Saturday at 6 am and for 3 weeks, a horizontal suspension of activities for the whole country comes into effect for 3 weeks to limit the rapid spread of the virus that characterises this second wave of the pandemic. This procedure is very similar to that of the spring with two main differences.

- The compulsory use of masks both indoors and outdoors, which is currently in force, remains part of our everyday life, as does the ban on boarding public transport without wearing a mask.

- Kindergartens, primary schools and special education schools at all levels remain open, while for secondary schools and high schools tele-education will be applied this time as well.

As in the spring, from Saturday 7/11 and for 3 weeks, traffic restrictions are in force, as travel is allowed for commuting to and from work or accompanying a child to school, but also for emergency reasons.

Travel to and from work for working hours or during working hours, if necessary, is only possible with a relevant confirmation from the employer, issued through the Ergani Information System. For legal persons, the attestation is provided by their legal representative, while for self-employed persons and self-employed persons the attestation is provided by themselves.

A certificate is issued by the Director of the school for the transport of students to and from school.

The relevant forms and detailed instructions are available at forma.gov.gr.

Moves are allowed only by sending an SMS to 13033 or by filling in the form for an exceptional move available at forma.gov.gr or by handwritten confirmation (according to the template) for the following reasons only:

1. Travel for health reasons (going to a pharmacy, visiting a doctor or going to a hospital or health centre, if recommended after communication). In this case, an SMS with the code 1 is sent.

2. Going to an operational supply store of essentials, where it is not possible to send them in time. In this case, code 2 is used in the SMS.

3. Going to a public service, if electronic or telephone service is not possible and only for urgent needs, after setting an appointment for which the citizen is informed in writing or electronically and subject to the additional condition of showing the above information, as well as going to the bank, to the extent that electronic transaction is not possible. For going to a public service or bank, the code 3 shall be used in the SMS.

4. Travel to provide assistance to people in need, as well as to transport a spouse or first-degree relative to and from his/her place of work, if there is a need, or to accompany a student to school by a parent or guardian. In these cases (providing assistance, transporting a spouse or relative to work and accompanying a pupil), an SMS with code 4 is sent.

5. Transition to a funeral under the conditions provided by law or for the transition of parents who are separated which is necessary to ensure the communication of parents and children, in accordance with the applicable provisions. In such cases, code 5 shall be used in the SMS.

6. Physical exercise outdoors or movement with a pet, individually or in pairs of two (2) persons, provided that in the latter case the necessary distance of one and a half (1.5) meters is observed. As well as travel for feeding stray animals, provided that the travel takes place within the municipality of residence of the citizen. In such cases, the code 6 shall be used in the SMS.

Mr.Chardalias appealed and appealed to all «the movements to be reasonable and only the necessary, so that the measures to yield the maximum and the fastest», while adding that during the evening hours the controls will be intensive, and the reasons that justify moving these hours are limited to reasons of work, health, personal exercise or movement with a pet around the area of residence of each.

Also from Monday, those wishing to enter the country will be required to have a negative PCR test. More specifically, passengers on international flights must have a negative PCR test carried out up to 48 hours in advance, while those entering from land borders must have a negative PCR test carried out up to 72 hours in advance. It should be noted that there is a transitional period of 5 days, until next Tuesday, for entry by land due to PCR, and the implementation of these measures does not affect the conduct of activities related to the country's international obligations.

The PLF form is still mandatory for all those arriving from abroad at any of our airports and from Monday the PLF form is also mandatory for those travelling abroad.

Travel by air within the country is allowed only for the purpose of returning to permanent residence, family reunification, business and health reasons.

In addition, inter-county transfers are not allowed, with the exception of the 4 reasons mentioned. To return to the place of permanent residence, a copy of the E1 tax return or Special Use Residence Certificate is required, obtained from the web site www.aade.gr.

Primary and special education schools, hotels, which can be suspended, the primary and secondary sectors, and specific activities in the tertiary sector remain open.

As in the spring, the operation of the retail trade is suspended, with the exception of supermarkets, mini-markets and kiosks. Also during this phase of the suspension, e-commerce services or home delivery services by telephone are excluded. The suspension also excludes the retail sale of heating oil for home delivery (CN code 47.99.85.01). The operation of optical and hearing aid shops is also permitted, but only after telephone contact at a number provided by the shopkeepers.

In addition, the operation of hairdressing salons and personal hygiene services, gyms, archaeological sites and museums is suspended. Suspension of operation also applies to fairs and Sunday markets, playgrounds, playgrounds, amusement and theme parks, entertainment centres, cinemas, concert halls, theatres and other performing arts, conferences and exhibitions.

Especially for hairdressing salons are given an extension of two days if they wish, i.e. they can operate on Saturday and Sunday, with their suspension starting on Monday at 6 am.

Also, the operation of the Day Care Centres for the Elderly is suspended and, as in the spring, those who need help in their daily lives can turn to their municipalities and receive it through the «Help at Home» programme.

Regarding sports, individual sports are allowed only in outdoor public places and open sports facilities up to 3 people including the coach, in individual and only sports such as tennis, archery, sailing, cycling and the rest that have already been announced.

It is also permitted to hold matches only in the first national football league (Super League) and the first national basketball league (Basket League), as well as European matches (Champions League, Europa League, EuroLeague, BCL) in accordance with the special protocols of UEFA, FIBA and Euroleague.

The use of the sports facilities is also permitted by those listed in the lists of names issued by the General Secretariat of Sport for their preparation for the 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Finally, the operation of restaurants is also suspended, but home delivery and takeaway services are allowed, which cannot be the sole reason for people to travel.

On education, kindergartens, primary schools, as well as special education schools at all levels and private special education centres remain open. Gymnasiums and high schools will be operating under a tele-education regime from Monday, while tele-education continues in higher educational institutions. Tutorials and study centres will also operate under tele-education.

For transport, the occupancy remains at 65% for Public Transport, while for taxis and cars 1 passenger is allowed. Exceptionally, a second passenger is allowed if the transport is performed for health reasons, for medical reasons, and the restriction does not apply in the case of parents with minor children.

Hospitals and diagnostic centres continue to allow one attendant per patient, while the suspension of visits to welfare facilities (such as Care Homes for the Elderly) remains in force.

It also remains mandatory for private companies to telework at a rate of 50%. For the public sector, it is noted that tomorrow Friday at 12 noon at the Ministry of Interior, the minister in charge, Takis Theodorikakos, will give an interview on the measures to be implemented in the public sector.

Also, the operation of Courts, Land Registry Offices and Land Registry Offices is suspended except in cases of emergency.

Mr.Chardalias pointed out that this is a difficult juncture «because we are facing a new test in the same battle, in the same war, a test that we have all experienced before and we would all like not to experience again. But it is a moment when we must all stand united once again in the face of the pandemic, to protect those we love, our families, our friends and our fellow human beings. To protect the National Health System, to protect our own country,» he said.

Mr.Chardalias stressed that in the last 5 days there has been a dramatic increase in the course of the pandemic as 9,696 positive cases have been detected out of the 46,892 total cases that the country has been counting since the beginning of the pandemic. Specifically in just five days there has been an increase in cases by 20%. Further, he said, our fellow hospitalized persons increased by 36% from 1103 to 1503 and intubated persons, increased by 34%, from 132 to 177. Inpatients in ICUs and NICUs increased by 33% from 157 to 209 and in the last five days an additional 52 ICU beds needed to be used as many as the ICUs at SOTIRIA hospital which were handed over in two months. On November 2, 216 admissions were made and 101 discharges were given. «If we continue at this pace the health system in 10 days will have to receive an additional 1150 patients of which mathematically 150 will be admitted to ICUs.».

«We are facing another crucial but equally important crossroads», Mr.Chardalias stressed.

«Together we can overcome this obstacle with patience and perseverance as we did in the spring. I want to thank each of you individually for your personal effort all these months and call you with a full sense of responsibility and understanding and this battle will be fought together because only together we can win it again, all together with patience, perseverance we will succeed, »he concluded.

Β. Kontozamanis: We will not leave any citizen behind in the battle with coronavirus

We will not leave any citizen behind in the battle with the coronavirus, stressed the Deputy Minister of Health, Vassilis Kontozamanis, at tonight's briefing on the specification of measures that will apply during the lockdown period. B. Kontozamanis stressed that all hospitals are ready to receive patients with coronavirus, and added that emergency and urgent cases, as well as hospitalizations and care of patients with chronic diseases will continue to be treated normally. He stressed that the sufficiency of drugs used to treat COVID 19 has been ensured and added that the vaccine, when ready, will be administered free of charge - and its availability in our country will only take place once it has been approved by international organisations.

«The health system has finite resources.No matter how prepared we are, the situation can reach a breaking point,» he added and reiterated that «this is what we are trying to prevent, so we are taking all these measures to limit the spread.’.

He explained that in the last 10 days alone, 95 additional ICU beds were needed for coronavirus and said that since the beginning of the summer, ICU beds have increased by 53.6%, as 300 additional beds have been added - a number that will increase by the end of 2020, he said. Currently, he said, «there are 160 vacant beds for coronavirus across the country, out of the total 1038 ICU beds with available in the country. In Athens, of the 164 beds for coronavirus, 61 are vacant; and in Thessaloniki, of the 87 ICU beds for coronavirus, 19 are vacant.

As the Deputy Health Minister pointed out, the aim is to make the NHS stronger, and «this is what we have been trying to do since May with significant actions to deal with the second wave of coronavirus». Referring to simple inpatient beds, he said that 600 coronavirus patients had been treated in them in the last 10 days, while a total of 3339 simple beds are now available, of which 2000 are currently vacant. Mr Kontozamanis also spoke of additional recruitment, but also of increased health budgets of €302 million.

Referring to the tests for coronavirus, he said that «from 6500 in June we have reached 30,000 tests every day today» which can now be done in many regional clinics and 180 health centres. He also added that there are stocks of self-protection equipment for medical staff and the supply of necessary drugs has been ensured.