Greece records new high in coronavirus cases

by Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - Greece on Wednesday reported 262 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest single-day figure since the start of the outbreak, the country's health authority said.

Of the new infections, 22 were imported and detected at airports and other entry points, said the National Organization of Public Health (EODY).

A nursing home in the Aegean city of Thessaloniki was placed under a seven-day lockdown after 36 cases were reported from the facility.

The source of the virus was a staff member who was infected in the resort town of Halkidiki, said Sotiris Tsiodras, who heads the country's coronavirus task force.

The case shows that "the virus can cross from an area where there is no danger -- young people having fun on an island, or at a holiday place -- to a nursing home, a very sensitive unit with elderly people," he added.

 Two new deaths were also reported, pushing the death toll to 216.

The nationwide case-count has climbed to 6,177. Of these, 1,528 are related to travel abroad.