The Greek government extended the lockdown in place in Athens and several regions of the country on Friday February 26 until March 8, with coronavirus infection rates remaining high.
Read also: Greece advances on the implementation of a vaccine passport
"
Our epidemiologists deemed it necessary to extend the measures,
" said Deputy Minister of Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias, exactly one year after the appearance of the first case of Covid-19 in Greece.
"
A year later, we are still fighting the battle (...) We will not waver, we will not lose heart and we will not go back
", added the official visibly moved during a press conference.
"
Thanks to vaccines, freedom is not very far away,
" he added.
According to epidemiologist Gikas Magiorkinis, a member of the Ministry of Health's coronavirus committee, intensive care admissions rose 12% this week.
Greece has been under strict containment since early November.
Some measures were lightened shortly before Christmas, but restrictions were re-imposed in February, unevenly depending on the severity of the pandemic in regions.
The pandemic has killed 6,400 people in the country, where 188,000 cases have been recorded.
More than 826,000 people have already been vaccinated out of a population of 10.7 million.