The Greek economy will be tested in the coming months because of the coronavirus pandemic, said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. It has announced a package of measures to support the economy worth 10 billion EUR.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who said 3 billion EUR would come from the state budget and the same amount from EU structural funds, added that the country had “new weapons” after its inclusion in the extraordinary asset purchase program, which the European Union has embarked on the central bank (ECB).

The Greek Prime Minister said the support will target staff whose jobs are at risk as a result of quarantine measures to control the coronavirus pandemic.

In a televised address, Mitsotakis welcomed the ECB’s decision to include Greece in its extraordinary € 750 billion bond repurchase program, while stressing the government’s commitment to stay on the path of growth despite the challenges.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the additional funds earmarked for the revised budget will go toward extending support of 800 EUR for employees who will lose their jobs because of business closures and for employees working for companies that have significant financial losses during of the health crisis.

He also said that frontline healthcare workers will receive a special Easter bonus in the battle against the new coronavirus. He assured private-sector employees that their holiday bonus would be paid as usual.

It has become clear today that a sixth person in Greece has died from complications related to coronavirus-induced pneumonia. The victim is a 70-year-old man who was treated at a hospital in Kastoria, Northern Greece and had serious health problems.

Greek authorities have reported 464 cases of coronavirus, and 19 people have already recovered from the disease, Bloomberg reports. The Athens government has decided today to close all hotels from March 23 until the end of April, and supermarkets, pharmacies, grocery stores, gas stations, and pet stores will remain open.

Greece was at the epicenter of the debt crisis in Europe ten years ago, losing more than a fifth of its gross domestic product.