Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed the nation on Tuesday. He said that personal responsibility and government measures were equally important in the “war with an enemy that is invisible but not invincible.”

Mr Mitsotakis warned people against flocking to hospitals on minor symptoms and staying at home to restrict the transmission of the virus while the health system dealt with emergencies.

“Our first priority is non-negotiable: saving lives,” he stressed, adding that Greece imposed lockdown “far earlier than other European countries” and other measures which are unprecedented during a time of peace.

Mr Mitsotakis placed emphasis on job retention and announced that the 2,000 newly-hired nursing staff would help cater to the 1,900 additional beds added to the system.

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Economic measures

Mr Mitsotakis underlined Eurogroup’s decision to suspend the 3.5 per cent primary surplus target for this year due to the economic repercussions of the epidemic. He said that “for the first time, the government will allocate 2 billion euros to assist businesses with reduced turnover, while the state – not the businesses – will assume the cost of part of workers’ wages in affected sectors.”

He suspended tax and insurance obligations. The Bank of Greece and European Central Bank would cover the cost of loan rates and banks would suspend debt repayments for businesses by September.

Mr Mitsotakis uged businesses to avoid redundancies, adding that there will be further measures to “stimulate liquidity” and allow businesses to withstand the current adversity. He also warned people to brace for the worse in the coming two months, adding that “new restrictions will follow”.

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Mr Mitsotakis said that “what we are experiencing is not 15 days of relaxed holidays but something closer to war conditions” when he referred to the closure of educational institutions and remote working conditions. He added that many “drastic measures” are necessary and he said that he relied on each citizen to limit the pandemic and “number of casualties.”