COVID-19 pandemic in Greece

The COVID-19 pandemic in Greece was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first case in Greece was confirmed on 26 February 2020 when a 38-year-old woman from Thessaloniki who had recently visited Νorthern Italy, was confirmed to be infected. Subsequent cases in late February and early March related to people who had travelled to Italy and a group of pilgrims who had travelled to Israel and Egypt, as well as their contacts. The first death from COVID-19 in Greece was a 66-year-old man, who died on 12 March. Since the opening of the Greek borders to tourists at the end of June 2020, the daily number of confirmed cases announced has included those detected following tests at the country's entry points.

Following the confirmation of the first three cases in Greece, all carnival events in the country were cancelled on 27 February 2020. Health and state authorities issued precautionary guidelines and recommendations, while measures up to early March were taken locally and included the closure of schools and the suspension of cultural events in the affected areas (particularly Ilia, Achaea and Zakynthos). On 10 March, with 89 confirmed cases and no deaths in the country, the government decided to suspend the operation of educational institutions of all levels nationwide and then, on 13 March, to close down all cafes, sports leagues bars, museums, shopping centres, sports facilities and restaurants in the country. On 16 March, all retail shops were also closed and all services in all areas of religious worship of any religion or dogma were suspended. The government has announced a series of measures worth a total of around 24 billion euros, 14% of the country's GDP, to support the economy.^[3]

On 22 March, the Greek authorities announced restrictions on all non-essential movement throughout the country, starting from 6 a.m. on 23 March. From that date, movement outside the house was permitted only for seven categories of reasons: i) moving to or from one's workplace during work hours, ii) going to the pharmacy or visiting a doctor iii) going to a food store iv) going to the bank for services not possible online, v) assisting a person in need of help vi) going to a major ritual (funeral, marriage, baptism) or movement, for divorced parents, which is essential for contact with their children, and vii) moving outdoors for exercising or taking one's pet out, individually or in pairs. Citizens leaving their homes are required to carry their police ID or passport, as well as a signed attestation in which the purpose or category of travel is stated. The Hellenic Police, the Municipal Police, the Hellenic Coast Guard and the National Transparency Authority are empowered to enforce the restrictions and can issue fines for each offence. On 4 April, these restrictions were extended until 27 April, and on 23 April, they were again extended until 4 May.^[4][5]

The measures put in place in Greece are among the most proactive and strictest in Europe and have been credited internationally for having slowed the spread of the disease and having kept the number of deaths among the lowest in Europe.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]}

Starting from 4 May 2020, after a 42-day lockdown, Greece began to gradually lift restrictions on movement and to restart business activity.

Greece put in place new measures and restrictions on movement and business activity from 7 November 2020. Kindergartens, primary schools and special schools initially remained open, unlike the first lockdown in March, while middle and high schools switched to distance learning.^[12] On 14 November 2020, primary schools and kindergartens closed, initially for two weeks, and from 18 November 2020, they switched to distance learning. On 20 November 2020, Greece overtook China in terms of the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19. The country reached 100,000 cases on 27 November.

On 14 December 2020, shops (utilizing the click away method)^[13] as well as hairdressers and other facilities were allowed to open, while schools and restaurants remained closed. Two weeks later, on 28 December, Greece overtook China in terms of the number of deaths from COVID-19. At the end of 2020, there were nearly 140,000 cases and about 4,800 deaths in the country. On 2 January 2021, starting from the next day, all the measures lifted or relaxed on 14 December were reinstated until 18 January, citing the opening of schools as reason for these measures.^[14] However, the government's planned reopening of all schools on 8 or 11 January was criticised by many epidemiologists in the country and, in the end, only primary schools reopened on 11 January,^[15] with secondary schools reopening on 1 February.

In late January 2021, case numbers increased. On 12 February 2021, Attica was again placed in lockdown with the closure of lower schools (high schools had already been closed since early November) and retail outlets, but virus cases continued their rapid growth reaching 3,215 on 9 March. Local lockdowns were imposed in more and more local districts. On 4 March, new measures were taken, including placing all of Greece in the highest level of measures. On 5 March, Greece reached 200,000 cases. Approximately half of the prefectures were in the deep red level (full closure of all schools and retail outlets), and on 12 March, all schools were closed for two weeks.^[16] The COVID-19 death toll in the country exceeded 10,000 on 25 April. On 3 May, the lockdown ended and measures eased, and on 14 May, Greece, including islands, opened for tourists from several countries.^[17] The country reached 300,000 cases on 13 April, 400,000 on 30 May, 500,000 on 3 August, 600,000 on 6 September, 700,000 on 19 October, 800,000 on 9 November, 900,000 on 24 November and a million on 12 December. By the end of 2021, there had been about 1.2 million cases and nearly 21,000 deaths in Greece.