ATHENS — Τhe settlement of migrants and refugees in the new camp at Kara Tepe near Mytiline is in progress and they are all being tested for COVID-19 before entering, by National Public Health Organisation teams, stated government spokesperson Stelios Petsas during the press briefing on Thursday. He said the government was continuing a policy of providing "housing, food and protection for refugees," and also noted that Greece was doing better than most countries in terms of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

According to figures presented he presented to reporters, Greece held the 124th position worldwide on September 15 for the number of novel coronavirus cases, as the international average was 3,817 incidents per one million citizens, compared to Greece's 1,319 cases per million. In terms of fatalities, Greece ranked 110th, with the international average standing at 120.6 deaths per million citizens, whereas the average number in Greece was 30.

On the opening of schools he said that "they opened without the problems that some predicted and maybe expected. There was a mistake with the size of the face masks and the government recognised it and corrected it."

Referring to Greek-Turkish relations, he claimed that the withdrawal of the Turkish research vessel Oruc Reis was a positive first step but the de-escalation of tension in the Aegean and in the Mediterranean must have consistency and continuity. "If Turkey's intention to de-escalate is genuine then Greece is ready to resume the exploratory talks on the delimitation of maritime zones from the point where they were interrrupted in March 2016, due to Turkey," he said.

Finishing his briefing, he called on the public to be exceptionally careful from Thursday afternoon, when Greece is expecting to be hit by a Mediterranean hurricane, a rare meteorological phenomenon for Greece but also extremely dangerous, as nobody can predict its intensity or its course with certainty.