NEWS

Concerns of virus peaking in countdown to winter

Concerns of virus peaking in countdown to winter

The biggest risk posed by the onset of winter is the fact that people will be spending longer periods of time indoors, which is expected to increase the risk of transmission of the coronavirus up to tenfold, according to Dimitris Paraskevis, a professor of epidemiology at Athens University who is advising the government on its response to the pandemic.

Another concern is the tendency of many to disregard restrictions in the evening. Alkiviadis Vatopoulos, a professor of microbiology at the University of West Attica and also a government adviser, referred to “two Greeces, one in the morning where everyone wears masks and one in the evening when the same people take off their masks and go out to have fun.”

Health authorities are expected to decide this week whether to extend a new wave of restrictions imposed on Attica following a spike in cases in the region last month, with the likeliest scenario that the measures will remain in place. 

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