LARISSA, Greece – A giant operation has been underway starting early on Wednesday, by order of Deputy Minister of Civil Protection and Crisis Management Nikos Hardalias and in cooperation with Thessaly regional authorities, after several Covid-19 cases were detected in a Roma settlement at Nea Smyrni, Larissa.

Sweeping tests have been carried out since early in the morning, while strong police forces are in the area to monitor the work of the special teams.

Based on the protocol, 17 teams from the Thessaly Region authority, the National Public Health Organisation (EODY), Civil Protection, the 5th Health District Directorate, the University Hospital of Larissa, the General Hospital of Larissa and the Municipality of Larissa, with the operational support of the Civil Protection agency and police, have begun extensive tracking and tracing of cases, taking hundreds of samples within the settlement. The prosecutor, who has already summoned the Roma mediators inside the settlement early on Wednesday morning, was also informed of the operational plan.

This envisages repeated rounds of sampling in three phases (Day 0, Day 7 and Day 14 since detection of cases on Wednesday) and provides for quarantine procedures per in each phase, for example in building blocks and neighbourhoods with positive cases, if they arise, but also with the transfer and isolation of positive cases that are asymptomatic, with mild or no symptoms, to a special medical centre that will operate in the area following cooperation between the Deputy Ministry of Civil Protection and the Region of Thessaly to limit the spread of COVID-19.

According to the latest data that caused the alarm, 10 new cases were identified in the settlement, of which seven were in a single family.