ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece reported a single-day record high of 35,580 COVID-19 infections on Thursday as the highly contagious Omicron becomes the dominant variant in the country.
It was the third successive daily record of cases, with infections more than tripling since the beginning of the week.
“It seems that the raid of Omicron is very intense,” Deputy Health Minister Mina Gaga said during a press briefing, adding that more than 60% of new cases relate to the new variant.
The country’s Health minister announced on Wednesday new restrictions on the hospitality sector, bringing forward measures planned for early January.
From Thursday evening, bars, nightclubs and restaurants will close at midnight, with no standing customers and no music, with the exception of New Year’s Eve when they can stay open until 2 a.m.
The government announced earlier on Thursday subsidies for employees and musicians kept from working in January due to the new restrictions.
The country, with 11 million people, has reported 1,170,293 infections since the first case was detected in February 2020 and 20,708 COVID-related deaths.
(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Peter Graff)
