ATHENS – With a second lockdown in place in Greece aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, there is still defiance in some quarters, with Greek police saying they detained 14 people for holding an anti-mask rally in the Greek capital's main center of Syntagma Square.

They were charged with inciting disobedience and violating measures to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus as they were protesting without masks and taken before a prosecutor.

They were also fined 300 euros ($350.10,) the fine for violating the requirement having been doubled in an attempt to get even those who said they believe masks don't work or are a government plot to control them to put them on.

That came the same day Greek health authorities announced a record-breaking 41 new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the grim toll to 825 and another 1,490 cases raising the total to 58,187 as the numbers keep jumping.

The announcement was made by Vana Papaevangelou, Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, during a regular press briefing.

Twenty-five of the new infections were imported cases, detected at the country’s entry points at the borders, according to the daily bulletin of the National Organization of Public Health (EODY).

A record number of 239 coronavirus patients are currently on ventilators in Intensive Care Units (ICU's) while 329 were released and officials said that 1,952,343 tests have been conduced this year along with 92,623 rapid antigen tests but Greece doesn't have a country-wide track-and-trace system for mobile phone users in place yet.