Observing restrictive measures against the coronavirus diligently is key to slowing down the virus’ spread, professor Sotiris Tsiodras said on Tuesday evening at the daily televised update. 
In particular, he cited a report on the spread of Covid-19 in 11 European countries (excluding Greece), and said coronavirus has such a high dispersion rate that up to March 31, it was estimated that between 7 million and 43 million may have been infected, while an estimated 59,000 to 120,000 deaths prevented.
Tsiodras, also the Health Ministry’s coronavirus spokesman, said that 20 new infections were detected onboard a cruiseship after 383 of its passengers were tested for Covid-19.
He also noted that lack of symptoms does not mean the virus cannot still be transmitted, as “ we estimate that 10-50 pct of transmissions are due to asymptomatic patients."
The professor stressed that the wearing of face masks by people who are not infected is unnecessary. It is more important, he said, that people who are infected that should wear them to protect others, or people who are taking care of infected individuals.
With Greece in the spring season and nearing summer, he was asked about the effect of warmer temperatures on the coronavirus, to which he said that although it is known that respiratory-related viruses subside in the summer, not enough is known about high temperatures, especially if combined with high levels of humidity.

Tuesday numbers  
Tsiodras announced 82 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Greece in the last 24 hours and 7 new deaths, which brings the country’s total to 1,314 confirmed infections and 49 deaths. 
From those who have died since the start of the outbreak, 37 were men and 16 were women, 90 pct had underlying health issues and their average age was over 70 years of age.
Some 85 patients are being treated in Intensive Care Units, of whom 17 are women. The average age of ICU patients is 65 years, and more than half of these suffer from underlying health issues. A total of 6 people have so far been discharged from ICUs.

N. Greece lockdown, curfews

The community of Mesopotamia in the municipality of Kastoria is on lockdown as of Tuesday night, Civil Protection Deputy Minister for Crisis Management Nikos Hardalias said at the daily briefing on developments in Greece regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, with suppliers basic needs being the only ones allowed to enter or leave.
The community will remain in lockdown, he said, from 20.00 on Tuesday (March 31) through the next 14 days.
Another five municipalities in northern Greece - including Kastoria proper, Orestida and Nestorio in the Kastoria area, and Xanthi proper and Myki in the Xanthi area - are under curfew for 14 days as of 20.00 on Tuesday to April 14. The situation there is so critical in terms of infection, Hardalias said, that residents are forbidden from leaving home from 20.00 to 08.00 the next morning, every day for the next 14 days. There are no exceptions in terms of leaving home isolation to assist others (the town will work through the Help at Home program), they may only attend funerals if they are first-degree relatives, and they may only walk their pets around their home for a maximum of 15 minutes. In supermarkets customers must keep to 1 person per 20 sqm of useful space, while in open-air markets, stalls must be 10 meters apart and all set up on one side of the street.
Military doctors will be sent to staff the hospitals of Kastoria and Xanthi in addition to more nurses, as well as other health centers, while additional EKAV ambulance services will be provided, he said.

Bank queues
In Thessaloniki, local authorities and the central government have imposed a curfew on the afternoon use of Nea Paralia in the city, the promenade near the White Tower, after residents ignored warnings to keep safe distances. Reiterating the importance of keeping distances, Hardalias said that the popular coastal walk has been shut from 14:00 to 08:00 the next morning, daily and on weekends, for the next 14 days.
In Attica, two of the open markets in the Ilion district of Athens were suspended because the public was not keeping distances, while Hardalias was particularly appalled by people lining up outside banks on March 31 (payday), calling it "an unacceptable sight".
"April is a particularly critical time," he warned, "it's too early to judge" what the disease's developments will be. "We are issuing an SOS to you to observe the curfew," he told the public.

(Please note correction of earlier story, related to number of lockdowns/curfews)

See also:

State revenue head, bank rep urge public to resort to online transactions