Stores in Thessaloniki may open for pick-up of online orders only, Deputy Civil Protection and Crisis Management Minister Nikos Hardalias said on Friday, while those in Achaia will also be able to allow in-person shopping but by appointment only.

At the regular live briefing, Hardalias said these measures would go in effect on Monday (April 12). The same day, OPAP state betting stores will open, except for OPAP play and games involving slot machines.

In addition, retail stores would allow more people per square meter, depending on a store's surface area.

Otherwise, he noted that several regions in Greece including Attica, Thessaloniki, Halkidiki peninsual and most of Evia remained in "deep red" alert, as did Achaia, Arcadia and Corinthia, and several islands (Chios, Kalymnos, Kos, Lesvos, Mykonos, Rhodes, Zakynthos and Anogia and Chania on Crete).

Some prefectures and cities were downgraded to "red" alert, he noted. These included the Argolid, Istiea-Edipsos, and the islands of Astypalea and Skiathos.

Self-tests will reveal rise in new infections

New coronavirus infections will rise sharply next week, due to the additional results of self-diagnostic tests, said professor of pediatric infectious diseases Vana Papaevangelou at the pandemic.

However, underlined the member of the health ministry's committee of medical experts, this will help to identify asymptomatic carriers, to isolate them and trace their contacts.

Describing the virus' current dispersal trajectory, she noted that there is a steep rise in family infections: "Once the virus is brought home, especially the highly transmissible British variant, it can easily infect one's entire family."

Another key factor behind the still-high epidemiological burden across the country is meet-ups among friends and public gatherings without the use of face masks, she stressed, and reiterated anew the importance of wearing those at all indoor and outdoor public spaces.

Some stabilization is observed in Attica, but infections are rising in eastern Macedonia, in Crete and in many islands in the Aegean. The Rt factor has reached 1.1 in Thessaloniki and areas in Macedonia, she observed. ICU beds are 85 pct full nationally, and intubations went up by 31 since Thursday, while these doubled in Thessaloniki over the last 20 days.

But the rate of positive infections seems to have dropped to 6.1 pct from a recent 6.3 pct, she noted.

Concerning the reopening of schools, she pointed out that fresh infections among students aged 15-19 went up recently despite the fact that schools stayed closed for a long time. This can be explained by the fact that a 98 pct of students wore face masks while in schools, but wore them far less while out of school, she underlined.

Infections rise in Attica, Thessaloniki

Active coronavirus infections rose slightly in Attica and Thessaloniki Regions this past week, epidemiologist Gkikas Magiorkinis said on Friday.

During the regular live briefing, the member of the Health Ministry's experts committee on the coronavirus siad that active infections rose by 7 pct in Attica and  8 pct in Thessaloniki.

The health system remains under pressure, he said, while stressing that self-tests - used in an initial phase by students and teachers - are another way of handling the spread of infections, but a negative result to the virus should not prompt the public to change behaviors in terms of safety.

Self-tests for broader population to follow

Coronavirus self tests, which are now available to high school students and teachers only, will be provided to other segments of the population in a particular order, Alternate Health Minister Vassilis Kontozamanis said on Friday.

Kontozamanis said that 246,000 self tests were distributed on Friday to teachers and students of grades 10-12, as schools have opened for these particular grades. The tests are obligatory for both students and teachers.

Distribution will roll out per sector as follows, he said: retail, transport, financial services, manufacture, wholesale trade, food and drink (the latter, when they open). Availability to the general public will follow after these sectors are covered, he said.