Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias said"closing elementary schools was the last thing we wanted to do." AFP/LOUISA GOULIAMAKIATHENS: Greece announced on Saturday the closure of its primary schools, kindergartens and daycare centres amid a surge in coronavirus cases that has saturated the national health system.
"The Greek government decided the suspension of the functioning of schools until Nov 30," said a statement from Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias."Closing elementary schools was the last thing we wanted to do. This is a measure of how serious the situation is," he added.Most European countries have kept schools open during the second waves of cases that has hit the continent since September, unlike in March and April when they were shuttered during the first lockdowns.
Since late October, the daily number of deaths in Greece has quadrupled with 50 deaths reported some days, while the number of infections has doubled to around 3,000 cases daily."The coming weeks will be extremely critical", Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Thursday in the Greek Parliament where he was briefing MPs for the second lockdown since March.
This lockdown started Nov 7 and is to last until Nov 30, although experts suggest it might last longer.The country with a population of 19 million people has experienced 997 deaths and 69,675 contaminations since the beginning of the pandemic in late February, most of them in the last four months."The health system is in the red," Minister of Health Vassilis Kikilias has warned.
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