Greece reports fourth COVID-19 case, Eurozone says 'ready to act'

As health authorities confirmed the fourth case of coronavirus in Greece on Friday, the Greek government pressed forward with its drive to contain its spread. 

The fourth case is a 36-year-old woman who recently returned to Athens from northern Italy, according to the head of the Health Ministry’s committee of experts on contagious diseases, Athens University professor Sotiris Tsiodras. 

The 36-year-old has been admitted to a coronavirus isolation unit at the capital’s Attikon Hospital and was said to be in good health on Friday. 

According to Tsiodras, most of the cases of the coronavirus are “mild” and not a cause for concern. 

However, health authorities have urged citizens to observe hygiene rules, washing their hands frequently, and have called on those with symptoms of the virus – high temperature, a cough and shortness of breath – to contact their doctor or the National Health Organization (EODY). 

The other three cases are the so-called “patient zero” – the 38-year-old woman who returned to Thessaloniki from northern Italy earlier this week, her 10-year-old son, and a 40-year-old woman who recently returned to Athens from Italy. 

Those who have been in close contact with the infected patients are to undergo tests if they have not done so already. Meanwhile suspicious cases were reported Friday in Lamia, Karditsa, Halkidiki and Serres. 

As the number of coronavirus cases rises, authorities have appealed for calm. However, a sharp increase in sales of basic staples at supermarkets indicated that public concerns have spiked. 

Eurozone ‘ready to act’ on coronavirus impact if needed, says Centeno

The coronavirus seems to be a “temporary shock” to the eurozone economy but the bloc’s member states must be prepared to act in a coordinated way if the impact becomes a more long-lasting one, the chairman of eurozone finance ministers Mario Centeno said.

“It’s the new risk and it’s obviously a downside risk to our economies,” Centeno told Reuters in an interview on Friday.

“It looks like it’s going to be temporary, but the impact is there, and ... we need to coordinate our actions in case this becomes a more global scenario,” he said.