Day 8 of staying home
# of confirmed cases: 352 (21 new cases since yesterday)
# of deaths: 4
# of people tested: 4,320
# of people in hospital: 65
Testing for people who do not have symptoms is not
recommended.
***
Yet another face of Athens, of Greece, of Europe, of the
world has revealed itself. This time, to the disbelief and shock of people
everywhere. A new normal, a new reality has descended on us, in varying speeds
and in varying degrees. But one thing is certain: for the time being, our lives
are temporarily altered, our daily routines halted, our interactions with
others drastically modified.
I’ve decided to keep a daily log of what’s happening in
Greece, and in Athens, in my neighborhood during the coronavirus pandemic. I’ve
been housebound for eight days now, going out for essentials only: supermarket,
pharmacy and brief walks. Here’s a summary of what’s happened here so far…
Since early February, the health ministry and public health
authorities have been updating the public on how to protect themselves,
gradually putting measures into place, and conveying a general state of
preparedness.
The health ministry, early on, set up telephone hotlines so
people could get information on what to do, where to go in case they have symptoms;
they declared designated hospitals in Athens (and nationwide) where coronavirus
patients will be treated.
By February 27th, Greece had three confirmed
cases and a school in the affected area (Thessaloniki) was closed for two
weeks. The next day, on February 28th,
the first case was confirmed in Athens. Since then, every day new measures and
directives have been gradually announced as the situation has worsened.
Early cases were people who had recently traveled to Italy,
or had been in contact with people who had traveled to Italy. A later spike in
cases was linked to 53 Greek tourists who had traveled to the Holy Lands -Israel and Egypt.
Of the four deaths, all are men, three in their late 60s and one in his 90s. All had underlying health issues.
Greece has closed its borders to Albania, North Macedonia. Flights to/from Spain and Italy have been stopped, as well as passenger ships to/from Italy. Cruise ships are barred from all Greek ports.
The government
has been hiring new staff for the National Public Health Organization’s
information center, as well as the national healthcare system. Over 200 doctors
and nurses have been hired so far.
For private &
public sector employees – in two-parent families with children up to age 15,
where both parents work, one parent is allowed to stay home from work and receive
full pay, until April 10.
Every day at 6pm,
there is a live, televised briefing by the health minister and public health officials where new statistics are reported, new measures announced and next steps are
discussed.
What’s closed:
All schools and universities (including
public/private and frontistiria), courthouses, gyms, entertainment clubs, theaters, cinemas, all malls and department stores, cafes, bars,
and restaurant/food outlets (except delivery and take-out), libraries, museums,
archaeological sites (yes, the Acropolis is closed), athletic centers,
hair/nail salons, spas, tattoo/ piercing studios, lottery shops, casinos,
amusement parks, fairgrounds, public beaches
What’s open:
Hospitals,
pharmacies, banks, supermarkets, take-out/delivery food outlets, bakeries, butcher shops, periptera
(newsstands), gas stations,car repair, courier services, pet supply stores
Oh, and churches are open…(no one seems to know why) ?!
The Supreme Court stated that violation of measures dictated
by the authorities to contain the spread of coronavirus will be treated as a
crime and prosecuted. Across Greece, 127 people have been arrested so far, for
violating the measures. Those arrested include owners of cafes, restaurants, frontistiria
(private tutoring schools), and hair salons.
The government
has, for many days now, started a public awareness campaign across social media
and on TV, called ÎœÎνουμε Σπίτι (“We
Stay Home”), emphasizing everyone’s personal responsibility to take measures
seriously and protect their families and elderly parents and loved ones from
the spread of coronavirus, by staying home and social distancing. Greek
celebrities, actors, singers, etc have created short “we stay home” videos to
encourage people to stay home, and that we’re all in this together.
 |
| line outside supermarket |
As of today,
supermarkets are to restrict the number of customers allowed inside at any
given time, to one person per 10 square meters of space, and to ensure as much
as possible, that shoppers are keeping a distance of two meters from each
other. Usually supermarkets are closed on Sundays, but now they will remain
open, but only for grocery deliveries. Also, measures are in place to prohibit
people from hoarding antiseptic products. Purchases are now limited to three
antiseptic products per customer.
The prime
minister and his family have tested negative for the coronavirus. One member of
parliament has tested positive.
New measures
announced today, March 16:
- Starting this Wednesday, March 18, all remaining retail shops are to close as well (besides the malls & department stores).
- Any international travelers entering the country must self-quarantine for 14 days.
- Failure to abide by the rules will result in fines up to €5,000
- extended hours for supermarkets 7am-10pm
- more funding to go to medical equipment, etc
- additional hospitals to prepare dedicated wings/departments to coronavirus patients
- two villages in northern Greece (Damaskinia and Dragasia) are completely quarantined for 14 days, as most of the residents have contracted coronavirus. Only food and medical supplies, etc are allowed in.
Interestingly enough, at today's 6pm live briefing, besides public health officials, today was the first time the deputy minister of public order was also in attendance and spoke of details regarding organizing and coordinating various civil protection agencies.
My last ‘normal’ outing was on Sunday, March 8. I took a taxi and public transportation, and went to a downtown hotel, to vote at the Democrats Abroad Global Primary. That was only about a week ago… When I exited the metro, I self-consciously looked around before I took out my hand sanitizer to disinfect my hands. At that time, not many people were wearing masks, there was still a sense of normalcy, there was no real sense of urgency yet. People were being careful - but during that first week of March, that meant going about your business but washing your hands, using hand sanitizer, and remembering to cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough.
***
My last ‘normal’ outing was on Sunday, March 8. I took a taxi and public transportation, and went to a downtown hotel, to vote at the Democrats Abroad Global Primary. That was only about a week ago… When I exited the metro, I self-consciously looked around before I took out my hand sanitizer to disinfect my hands. At that time, not many people were wearing masks, there was still a sense of normalcy, there was no real sense of urgency yet. People were being careful - but during that first week of March, that meant going about your business but washing your hands, using hand sanitizer, and remembering to cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough.
Today,
on my quick trip to the supermarket, everyone was keeping their distance from one another, most shoppers were wearing masks, some of
them plastic gloves as well, and at the check-out counter, after paying, the cashier
would offer each customer alcohol disinfectant for their hands.
The streets of downtown Athens are empty, the streets around my neighborhood, the square etc - very few people walking around, many of them with masks.
In Athens the weather has changed since yesterday, it's been cold, windy, rainy on and off. Saturday was 75F and loads of people gathered at the beaches, which prompted the prime minister, on Saturday evening, to declare all public beaches closed. My local park also closed, the gates shut and locked. Until a few days ago, I would take brief walks there to escape and regain a sense of normalcy, even if for 20 minutes.
And despite the pleas to stay home, many people gathered for Sunday morning services at churches across the country. A televised church service showed a crowd of people lined up to receive holy communion, which is offered to each person from a chalice, using the same spoon for everyone.
I'm taking it one day at a time, hoping that the weather will improve so I can at least sit outside on the balcony - which I did on Saturday, reading a book and it wasn't all that bad.
That's all for now.
The streets of downtown Athens are empty, the streets around my neighborhood, the square etc - very few people walking around, many of them with masks.
In Athens the weather has changed since yesterday, it's been cold, windy, rainy on and off. Saturday was 75F and loads of people gathered at the beaches, which prompted the prime minister, on Saturday evening, to declare all public beaches closed. My local park also closed, the gates shut and locked. Until a few days ago, I would take brief walks there to escape and regain a sense of normalcy, even if for 20 minutes.
And despite the pleas to stay home, many people gathered for Sunday morning services at churches across the country. A televised church service showed a crowd of people lined up to receive holy communion, which is offered to each person from a chalice, using the same spoon for everyone.I'm taking it one day at a time, hoping that the weather will improve so I can at least sit outside on the balcony - which I did on Saturday, reading a book and it wasn't all that bad.
That's all for now.
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