ATHENS, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Greek government announced on Friday the further extension to Feb. 1 of the current nationwide lockdown imposed on Nov. 7 as part of the efforts to address the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
On the same day, according to the timetable, middle school and high school students will return to classrooms for first time after two and a half months of online learning, Nikos Hardalias, Deputy Minister for Civil Protection and Crisis Management, told a regular press briefing broadcast on national broadcaster ERT.
Primary schools and kindergartens opened on Jan. 11 and retail stores on Jan. 18 as Greece is gradually easing restrictions.
The epidemiological data indicate that the situation has been stabilized in the past three weeks, Vana Papaevangelou, an associate professor of pediatrics who participates in the committee of experts advising the Greek Health Ministry on the management of the COVID-19 crisis, explained during the same briefing.
Currently, Greece has some 6,000 active cases of coronavirus, half of them in Attica region, she said.
On Friday the National Public Health Organization (EODY) announced 585 new cases within 24 hours, bringing the total confirmed infections to 151,041 since Feb. 26, when the first case was registered in Greece.
Furthermore, 28 patients died since Thursday, bringing the death toll in the country to 5,598. Enditem
