ATHENS — Deputy Minister for Civil Protection & Crisis Management Nikos Hardalias announced the tightening of preventive restrictions in the Attica and Trikala regions, speaking at Tuesday's live briefing on the coronavirus latest facts and figures.

Effective as of Wednesday, attendees at live concerts in open air venues must not exceed a 50 pct venue capacity, they must be seated, not smoke or drink alcohol, and must wear face masks at all times. The operation of indoor live venues and concert halls is suspended for 14 days, also as of Wednesday.

Cinemas and theaters must operate at a 60 pct capacity maximum.

Wearing face masks is mandatory at all indoor public and private spaces and at all outdoor places where many people may often gather, such as public squares, bus stops and long queues at shops and public services.

Restaurants will continue to operate with a maximum of six seated customers.

The minister also announced that the region of Trikala is being placed under epidemiological surveillance with the following measures coming into effect as of 06:00 on Wednesday: a ban on the operation of restaurants and entertainment venues from midnight to 07:00 in the morning, and a maximum of 50 people allowed at public social events and gatherings.

Magiorkinis on pandemic: Majority of recent cases affecting 25-35 age group

Most new coronavirus cases recorded this past week were of people aged 25 to 34 years old, University of Athens professor Gkikas Magiorkinis said on Tuesday during the twice-weekly live updates on the pandemic's development in Greece.

"This age group leads in the pandemic" distribution, he said, "followed by the group of those aged 45 to 54, and 35 to 44."

He revealed that "the pandemic is showing an alarming resistance to preventative measures taken so far" and made special reference to the "increasing number of intubated people, a rising trend during these last two weeks that shows no sign of a turnaround."

In particular, Attica, which houses a third of the Greek population, has recorded more than half of all Greek cases, he said. Urban centers are hotbeds of new infections, he noted, and called on the public to keep social interaction to a small group of friends and relatives.