Yiannis Plakiotakis

After the Court of First Instance of Lasithi on the island of Crete temporarily halted the demolition of unauthorized constructions on the beaches of Elounda, the Police Directorate of Lasithi has now granted a tacit postponement to the demolitions in Ierapetra.

Concerns have allegedly been raised by law enforcement about the potential for these demolitions to incite social turmoil.

The demolition of illegal constructions on the shores of the island of Crete was suspended on Thursday by the Lasithi Court of First Instance. More specifically, it halted four planned demolitions in Elounda, even though the relevant protocols were final. 

The Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Yiannis Plakiotakis, spoke about a new era for the port of Igoumenitsa with his statement, on the occasion of the awarding of 67% of the share capital of the Igoumenitsa Port Authority to the Grimaldi Euromed-Minoan Lines consortium.

The wife of Sifis Valirakis, a former minister and anti-junta activist during Greece's 1967-74 military dictatorship who was found dead at sea on Sunday night, has not ruled out possible manslaughter.

Shipping minister Yiannis Plakiotakis who had been hospitalised with Covid-19 since November 23 was released from Athens' Evangelismos Hospital on Tuesday.

Plakiotakis initially spent a week at home but was then admitted to Evangelismos on November 28 due to high fever. On December 1, he was transferred to the intensive care unit but was not intubated.

Doctors treating Shipping Minister Yiannis Plakiotakis for Covid-19 at the Greek capital's Evangelismos Hospital on Tuesday transferred the government official to intensive care for "precautionary reasons."

The decision was taken after the minister's oxygen levels dropped, though his condition has not required that he be intubated, sources at the ministry have said.

Greek Shipping Minister Yiannis Plakiotakis has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and is under medical surveillance at home, the Ministry of Shipping and Island Affairs said late on Monday.

According to the announcement, the 52-year-old official was doing well and has not shown serious symptoms of the illness.

Securing the safety of swimmers at sea will also help improve the quality of tourism offered the country, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday, speaking at an event on safety at sea.

The event was organized by nonprofit Safe Water Sports, which promotes educational activities particularly for children to enhance awareness of safety at sea.

Greece is tightening controls on its sea border with Turkey following rumors of a plot to send migrants infected with the novel coronavirus to Greek shores. Due to the extreme sensitivity of the issue, officials in Athens have maintained a cautious stance.

Coast Guard officials will intensify checks at all Greek ports as of Friday to enforce compliance with the measures announced by the government against the spread of the new coronavirus.