Adonis Georgiadis

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Greece has exceeded 1,000, according to the latest government briefing.

The number of confirmed cases nbow stands at 1.061, up 95 from 24 hours ago.

There were also 4 fatalities, bringing the total to 32.

Holland was added to the already long list of countries flights have been banned to and from.

Development and Investment Minister Adonis Georgiadis warned Saturday that strict lockdown measures will persist "well beyond April 6," the end-date initially announced.

New restrictions are going into effect as of Monday at supermarkets, while the government will assess Sunday's sales in the sector to decide whether the Sunday opening measure will continue for the next couple of weeks as had been announced.

Supermarkets have opened at 9 a.m. Sunday, in an attempt to control the flow of shoppers.

The decision, signed by Development and Investment Minister Adonis Georgiadis, also obliges the supermarkets to sell newspapers. This is aimed at limiting the itineraries of shoppers.

It appears uncertain whether the extension of supermarket opening hours would go ahead on Friday after postponements due to reactions by the chains.

Although the longer hours - from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. - were originally supposed to start on Wednesday, their introduction has now been put off until Friday, and Sunday openings for the next month remain to be seen.

The government on Wednesday announced a 3.8-billion-euro package of measures to soften the blow to the economy from the coronavirus epidemic. The package aims to support workers, the self-employed and enterprises, as the first mass layoffs have already been recorded and the risk of a painful recession is looming large.

Greek Development and Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis announced he is suspending as of Thursday the operation of debt collecting and debt management companies for as long as the government's emergency quarantine measures to tackle the new coronavirus outbreak are in place.

Supermarkets will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays under new emergency legislation that will go into force on Thursday as part of the government's bid to ease the challenges arising from measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

As of Monday, supermarkets across Greece are to start restricting the number of customers allowed inside a shop at any given time, in line with new, stricter regulations issued by the government to curb the spread of the coronavirus. 

The Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) has approved the first few licenses for the production of electricity through hybrid systems, opening the way for the processing of some 170 applications it has received.