Greece: Virus fears push back school opening 1 week

ATHENS

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Greek schools will open a week later than expected, officials said Tuesday.

Schools had been scheduled to open on Sept. 7, but with a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, authorities decided to push this back to Sept. 14, said Education Minister Niki Kerameus.

The delay is necessary to allow time for vacationers to return to big cities to limit the movement of asymptomatic people, she told a press conference.

Face masks will have to be worn by students and teachers and will be handed out for free to both public and private schools, she added.

Health authorities Tuesday announced 207 new cases of coronavirus, while five deaths were also recorded in the past 24 hours.

Among those, 20 cases were recorded at the county’s entry points, the National Public Health Organization said.

The total number of infections since the rise of the pandemic now is 10,524, with 271 deaths.

With a rise in its daily cases despite managing to control the spread of the virus in early months, Greece has now prompted authorities to extend measures as numbers continue to fluctuate.

The Civil Aviation Authority on Tuesday issued new restrictions to contain the virus’ spread.

A ban in flights between Greece and Turkey are extended until Sept. 15, while flights from Catalonia, Spain are temporarily suspended.

All passengers coming from Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Malta, North Macedonia, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates will be allowed to enter Greece only by presenting a negative COVID-19 test, taken up to 72 hours before arrival.