THESSALONIKI – After thousands of people in Greece’s second-largest city and major port of Thessaloniki flouted a quarantine to stop the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus, police were out in force to make sure they are obeying a near-complete lockdown now in place.
Before Prime Minister and New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis lowered the boom because he said too many people wouldn’t follow the quarantine, Thessaloniki was the symbol of defiance as people walked along the popular waterfront promenade in droves.
At that time police were told to urge them to return home but didn’t make arrests as they had done in Athens for businesses that stayed open in violation of a requirement they had to close unless deemed critical.
The inspections were particularly focused around the waterfront which, until recently, had been crowded with people defying appeals by authorities to self-isolate and could be seen strolling in close proximity, also ignoring advice to stay two meters (6.56 feet) apart.
Of those stopped for checks, most had a copy of the required government form or a hand-written declaration, explaining their reason for being out. Others, including younger people, chose to send the reason for being out to the government number 13033, which is free of charge, selecting an option from 1 to 6, depending on their chosen activity, said Kathimerini, as many people and cars could be seen being out, lessening the lockdown.
Speaking to the Athens-Macedonia news agency, Thessalonian Vassilis Giannelis, who chose the SMS option to take a jog by the waterfront, said, “It was very simple. I sent the message with option 6 and I immediately received a reply saying that my movement had been approved. I showed the message to the police officers and everything was fine,” he said
Those who didn’t have a document or text permission were not arrested or apprehended, only warned although the government said they would be fined 150 euros ($160.10) per violation, with apparently no limit.
Read more at thenationalherald.com
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