ATHENS — "From the management of the first wave of the pandemic, the government has said that the entire private sector is at National Health System's disposal," underlined on Friday alternate government spokesperson Aristotelia Peloni in an interview with the public radio's first programme.

Explaining the reasons why the government proceeded with the requisition of private clinics in Thessaloniki, Peloni added that there were reassurance for the concession of private clinics due to the high pressure to the health system in northern Greece but by the time the request was not accepted, the requisition proceeded as the ultimate measure.

"When you are at war, everyone gets into the battle" she commented.

The gradual lifting of restrictions from December 1 not a realistic goal, Petsas says

The gradual lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions from December 1 is not a realistic goal at the moment, government spokesperson Stelios Petsas said on Friday in an interview with ERT.

He clarified that "we never talked about a specific timetable, but we were talking about phases of a gradual return to a form of normalcy in December. And that is because, unfortunately, the first week of the lockdown was rather lax. Especially in northern Greece, where we have found that the cases persist at such high levels, despite the fact that many areas were in the 'red' for several weeks, before the implementation of the universal lockdown."

He noted that "what we see now … is that there is a better situation, possibly, in Thessaloniki, which is not however progressing so fast," and added: "We will continue to have pressure next week. We will see in the coming week what the plan should be – I repeat – for the gradual lifting of these measures. But at this stage we must all fight to contain the coronavirus."

Regarding the way in which the restrictions will be lifted, Petsas noted that "we start from the field that has a lower epidemiological burden, such as schools. Afterwards retail and then stores of hygienic interest, such as restaurants."

He pointed out, however, that "there is no timetable at the moment, because we are focusing on the battle."