ATHENS – People caught being out of their homes without a valid reason and permission on forms on their phones during Greece's second COVID-19 lockdown face doubled fines of 300 euros ($356.23) as the government tries to slow the resurging spread of the pandemic. 

Deputy Minister for Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias told a daily briefing that those who need to be out for permissible trips such as going to supermarkets, doctors, pharmacies or banks must either text 13033, download a form from the Internet or write out the reason, with their name and address.

Other allowed reasons include helping someone in need or taking children to and from kindergarten or elementary school with other schools closed, attending a funeral or using parental visitation rights for divided families, physical exercise or walking a pet, said Kathimerini.

But that's limited to two people who must stay at least 1.5 meters (4.92 feet) apart from each other. Written authorizations for people who need to travel for work or some other reason are available on the web page forma.gov.gr, though the information is only available in Greek now.

Hardalias also said that people traveling into Greece from abroad will need to show evidence of a negative coronavirus test conducted within 72 hours before traveling, instead of 48 hours.