ATHENS — Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke of the government's handling of the recent coronavirus pandemic as an experience that "will lead us to revisit both our history and our future through a different perspective," during an interview on Skai TV on Monday.

It was obvious that the pandemic would reach Greece sooner or later, he said, a realization that brought forward the limited amount of ICU beds in the country's hospitals, a state he blamed on the previous government and the crisis, and a high elderly population. Organizing the lockdowns and curfews that followed was a challenge but an obvious decision to take, he added.

On Greece taking measures in a timely manner, he noted that "the countries that acted quickly and effectively and, in the end, had only a few cases of infections, will also be the countries that recover faster than others."

The government's preventive measures "were not repressive," he pointed out, and the fines that were imposed for violating curfews were very few in relation to "the absolute compliance of an entire society." The sense of collective responsibility, he said, led to the tearing down of many stereotypes about Greek society.

The Prime Minister underlined that entrusting health experts from the first moment the pandemic hit the country played a key role in building a relationship of trust with citizens.

Regarding preparations for a possible second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Mitsotakis was adamant in saying that he "will not invest in luck. And I would certainly not leave the country unprepared for the high probability that the coronavirus will somehow return in the fall or winter. But we will be more prepared."