Health Ministry's committee

The Health Ministry's committee of experts on the pandemic appeared likely to advise the government to impose a 6 p.m. traffic curfew in the region of Attica for the weekends, although the proposal is not backed by all the members of the committee.

The Health Ministry's committee of experts on the pandemic is believed to have advised the government in favor of reopening secondary schools as of February, except in regions where the viral load is high.

The decision was taken after a meeting on Monday.

Proposals are expected Friday from the Health Ministry's committee of experts on the pandemic as to when, and under what conditions, secondary schools can reopen, which Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has stressed take precedence over the lifting of the ban on other activities.

A top health expert has expressed skepticism about schools being able to reopen safely to students this month, particularly in areas with high rates of coronavirus transmission.

One day after the government announced hard lockdowns in three western Attica municipalities to stem the tide of coronavirus infections, a prominent expert did not rule out similar measures for more areas in Greece.

The number of intubated patients with Covid-19 will have to drop to double digits before authorities can decide to reopen the market, Athanasios Exadaktylos, president of the Panhellenic Medical Association and a member of the Health Ministry's committee of experts, said on Thursday.

This week is considered particularly critical by the Health Ministry's committee of experts, who are anxiously awaiting encouraging signals that would relieve some of the pressure on the country's National Health System and pave the way for a gradual de-escalation of restrictive measures.

As health authorities confirmed the fourth case of coronavirus in Greece on Friday, the government pressed forward with its drive to contain its spread. 

The fourth case is a 36-year-old woman who recently returned to Athens from northern Italy, according to the head of the Health Ministry's committee of experts on contagious diseases, Athens University professor Sotiris Tsiodras. 

The government on Thursday moved a step closer to enforcing a set of emergency measures for the containment of the coronavirus after health authorities confirmed that two more people have tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of cases in Greece to three.

Greece reported its first coronavirus case on Wednesday in the northern port city of Thessaloniki.
Authorities said the female patient was 38 years old and had recently traveled from an area of northern Italy. 
Her family will be quarantined for an estimated 14 days.