Passers-by talk to each other in a Thessaloniki square next to a formation of red candles set out to mark World AIDS Day, aimed at raising awareness about the spread of the disease. Municipal staff, including Thessaloniki Mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos, distributed leaflets and condoms in central squares and streets. The latest statistics show that the number of Greeks infected with the HIV virus that can lead to AIDS is higher than it has been in nearly a decade. According to the Center for Infectious Diseases Control, there were 547 new cases of HIV in the first 10 months of the year.