KASTORIA, Greece — The region of Kastoria, NW Greece will be placed under Level-4 alert as of 06:00 on Friday, said Deputy Minister for Civil Protection & Crisis Management Nikos Hardalias on Wednesday.

Ioannina region will remain at Level-3 alert, while the regions of Thessaloniki, Boeotia, Larissa and Serres will be placed under a higher Level-3 alert. Concerning Ioannina, the situation there will be re-evaluated on Saturday, he added.

The minister, at Kastoria on Wednesday for meetings with local officials about the pandemic, had earlier pointed out that the 113 coronavirus infections in the city show an "aggressive spike", noting that the median age of infected individuals is 37 years. The situation there is critical and needs to be dealt with immediately, he noted.

With Thessaloniki jointly commemorating its patron saint Aghios Dimitrios and the city's liberation from Ottoman rule on October 26-27, celebrations there will be radically affected, bearing in mind that Level-3 alert allows only a maximum of nine (9) people to gather at any one time, anywhere, outdoors or indoors.

Hardalias stressed that Wednesday saw another record-breaking number of new infections in Greece (865), but also a record number of diagnostic tests performed in a single day (24,116), but insisted that coronavirus' dispersal rate suggests the situation is "extremely critical."

Concluding, the minister underlined that the collective effort to contain the coronavirus over the last few months "should not go amiss by letting down one's guard," and urged all citizens to observe protective measures diligently.

In the geographical distribution breakdown of Wednesday's new cases total, concentrations went up to a first-time 331 in Attica Region and to 181 in Thessaloniki Region. The higher confirmed cases for Wednesday are accounted for by rises in other regions, such as Ioannina (32), Kozani (27), Larissa (23) and Serres (19). Another 41 cases are being traced.

The government's new online map of health safety and protection from the novel coronavirus (available through covid19.gov.gr), includes information on infection cases per area and the measures in effect at that area. The measures are based on a system of four levels of intensity: 1. preparedness, 2. monitoring, 3. increased monitoring, and 4. increased threat.