Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced there will be a near-total Coronavirus lockdown throughout the Attica region of Greece.  These extra restrictions will commence from Thursday 11th February and initially last until Sunday 28th February 2021.  The new measures come after many spikes in the number of infections recently and a worrying rise in hospitalisations in the region.  As part of the new restrictions, all retail establishments and all schools will close once more, with the exception of supermarkets, food stores and pharmacies.  Churches and hair/beauty salons will also be forced to close their doors once again.  All restaurants, tavernas and cafes in Attica will only be allowed to offer delivery sevices, however, there will be no on-line 'click-away' or curbside pick-up service allowed.

Government health officials decided there was no option other than to institute another near-total lockdown due to the substantial transmission rate in Attica, particularly in the centre of Athens.  The historic region of Attica also includes a small part of the Peloponnese peninsula (inc. Galatas and Trizina) and the islands of Salamis, Aegina, Angistri, Poros, Hydra, Spetses and Kythira.

Achaia in the Western Peloponnese (that includes the city of Patras) and the island of Evia are following Attica's fate and entering a near-total lockdown from Saturday 13th February as health authorities struggle to contain the spread of the Coronavirus.  The area around Thessaloniki will continue to remain under increased moitoring.

The regional unit of Arcadia in the central Peloponnese will adopt tougher restrictions as of Thursday 25th February, as infections recorded in the area have spiked in the last seven days.  Authorities also announced that the municipality of Nafplio in Argolida is entering the 'high-risk' level, which is one short of a hard lockdown.  The additional measures will last until Sunday 28th February. 

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has welcomed the progress in Greece's vaccination rate, but stated that the recent surge in cases will mean that authoroties will now need to extend the lockdown beyond its original expiry date to Monday 8th March 2021.  The Winter Sales in all retail shops have now been officially extended by the Greek government until Wednesday 31st March 2021.