A government decision already in effect makes it easy for private sector employees belonging to so-called ‘vulnerable groups’ with regard to the coronavirus to ask to work from home so as not to come into contact with the public. A simple phone call, email or SMS to the boss should suffice, unless the employer can prove that work from home is not feasible. Even then, employers have to make arrangements to ensure the safety of their employees, failing which they will face hefty fines. In the coming days, the government will issue directives specifying the vulnerable groups and the medical documents required as proof.

A handout photo made available by the Greek National Defense Ministry shows part of an aeronautical exercise held in the Eastern Mediteranean. Frigates, submarines, aircraft and members of the special operations forces took part in the exercise which began on Tuesday at dawn, and will last until Thursday night.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (right) and his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov (left) attend the signing event in Athens for the participation of state-controlled company Bulgartransgaz in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the port city of Alexandroupoli in northern Greece. Mitsotakis said the terminal will be a "source of wealth’ for the countries of the region and turn the city port into a ‘global energy hub." "The gas will be liquefied and will connect to the national natural gas network and from there it will be channeled at the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023 to Greece, Bulgaria and the whole of Southeastern and Central Europe," he added. Borisov said the project will help both countries become major hubs and play a key role in energy distribution. [Orestis Panagiotou/EPA]

Health workers at the port of Piraeus were out in force over the weekend, taking the temperature of thousands of holiday-makers returning from the Greek islands. Amid a continued upward trend in infections, staff have been instructed to submit travelers with symptoms, as well as random passengers, to swab tests for Covid-19. There is particular concern about people returning from the Aegean islands and other parts of the country that have seen localized spikes in infections. Authorities have imposed restrictions in those areas, including curfews on restaurants, bars and nightclubs in a bid to contain the virus. [Panagiotis Tzamaros/Intime News] 

Members of the Medical Association of Athens and the Regional Authority of Attica are seen at the port of Piraeus on Friday, taking the temperature of holidaymakers returning from the Greek islands. Medical staff at the port also submit travelers with symptoms, as well as random passengers, to swab tests for Covid-19. Greek authorities have redoubled their efforts to contain the pandemic amid a recent upward trend in infections. On Friday the National Organization of Public Health (EODY) announced 209 new infections and three new deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 8,138 and the death toll to 238. [Alexandros Beltes/ANA-MPA] 

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou visited a new health center that was inaugurated next to the Moria migrant reception facility on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos Thursday. Sakellaropoulou, who was accompanied by Migration Policy Minister Notis Mitarakis, visited a facility for unaccompanied minors adjoined to the Moria camp and the Kara Tepe facility, which also hosts asylum seekers on the island. Earlier in the day protesters objecting to the inauguration of the health center clashed with police during a protest that resulted in the injury of the local police chief. Mitarakis, who met with residents earlier in the day, said the upheaval was provoked by a group of 30 or 40 youths. [ANA-MPA]

People, some wearing face masks to guard against the spread of the new coronavirus, are seen in the Little Venice area of Mykonos, Greece, on Sunday. Following a spike in Covid-19 infections, authorities on Wednesday imposed new restrictions on the island and on the Halkidiki peninsula in northern Greece. All parties, open-air markets and religious festivals have been banned, while gatherings must be limited to nine people. There are reports of 70 active infections on Mykonos, while each infected person in Halkidiki is believed to have infected at least three more people in Thessaloniki. [Thanassis Stavrakis/AP] 

The sole operating wind turbine on the island of Tinos is seen in this photo. The decision of the company that has undertaken the project of installing a wind farm there to file lawsuits against some 100 residents over their reaction to the plan is the latest episode in the saga concerning the prospect of installing wind farms on the Greek islands. Locals are intent on preserving the landscape and environment from what they say is the uncontrolled proliferation of turbines, frustrating companies that received the relevant licenses years ago but are constantly encountering obstacles to the completion of their investments.

Greek authorities are imposing extra restrictions in the top holiday destinations of Mykonos island and the northern resort region of Halkidiki after an increase in the number of coronavirus cases traced back to those areas. The Civil Protection authority says starting Friday through Aug. 31, all events such as live parties, religious processions, open-air markets are banned, while gatherings are limited to a maximum of nine people, both in public and in private settings. A maximum of four people are allowed per table at restaurants, or six people per table in cases of immediate family members. Masks are mandatory in all indoor and outdoor areas on Mykonos and throughout Halkidiki province. [AP]

Employees of Athens City Hall’s sanitation department Monday disinfected Syntagma Square, including its marble steps and benches. Workers use special machines dispensing jets of boiling water (well above the 56 Celsius temperatures that kill the coronavirus) to clean trash bins, sidewalks and other surfaces. The drive has focused on squares and pedestrianized areas as well as hospital, pharmacy and supermarket entrances, taking advantage of the relatively empty streets in August. “We are intensifying our disinfection operations across the whole city from now, before it returns to its autumn pace,” Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis said, adding that the aim was “for Athens’ public places to be safe for all.” [ANA-MPA]

The coronavirus has hit four members of staff at a 5-star hotel in the city of Hania on the island of Crete, Kathimerini understands. The four have been quarantined. The hotel in question conducted frequent and repeated tests on its staff, did not allow non-guests to use its services and adopted an extra protocol from the international chain that operates it. This was the second case of the virus at a hotel in the area and owners are seeing their hopes for a tourism rebound dim. Also, a recent government order for Swedish and Belgian travelers to be tested for the coronavirus has upset both hotel owners and foreign tour operators.

A crew member checks the body temperature of travelers boarding a ship in the port of Piraeus Friday, as Greeks set off for Saturday’s August 15 national holiday, the traditional peak in terms of people mobility in the summer. Trips to the Greek islands are carried out with all the precautionary measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. August 15, which celebrates the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, is considered a kind of summer Easter for Greeks. Churches and monasteries have been urged to stick to the strict health guidelines. Meanwhile, a temporary change of weather is forecast in the late afternoon in northern Greece with rain and storms. [Alexandros Vlachos/EPA]

In this picture with a long shutter speed stars move in the night sky during the Perseid meteor shower in the Pineios Lake near the village of Velanidi, Peloponnese, Greece, late Thursday. The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle. The Perseids shower is visible from mid-July each year, with the peak in activity being between Aug. 9 and 14 depending on the particular location of the stream. [Petros Giannakouris/AP]

Recitals at archaeological sites throughout Greece continue on Thursday at the Roman Agora of ancient Delphi with the participation of soloists from the Greek National Opera. Thursday’s performance will include nine distinguished soloists in famous arias from operas and operettas and classical cantatas with subjects drawn from ancient Greek mythology and Greek literature. It is part of a series of cultural events titled "All of Greece, one Culture," organized by the Culture Ministry. The events began on July 18 and will run to September 15, with 20 different music, opera, operetta and dance programs and tributes at 70 archaeological sites, in a total of 111 performances. The photo shows a performance at Ancient Olympia by the sopranos Marisia Papalexiou (left) and Chrysa Maliamani (right). [Elli Ruben]

A tourist wearing a face mask to guard against the coronavirus is seen leaving the Stoa of Attalos in the Ancient Agora’s archaeological museum in central Athens, Tuesday. Greece’s Culture Ministry announced on Monday that it was closing the museum of the major archaeological site for two weeks after a cleaner there was diagnosed with Covid-19. Meanwhile, scientists are expressing concern over the rising number of intubated patients in intensive care units. Their number, now at 26, has doubled over the past week and nearly quadrupled since the beginning of August. [AP]

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitstotakis speaks with locals on the island of Evia on Monday while surveying the damage caused by flash floods due to heavy rainfall on Sunday. A prosecutor on the island has ordered an investigation to determine whether any person or body can be held responsible for the deaths of eight people, including an infant, due to the floods. According to reports, two parallel investigations will be undertaken. One by the Fire Brigade, for omissions and errors in the handling of the situation and the other by a criminal judge for any arbitrary structures and illegal earthworks in the riverbed of the River Lilantas. Meanwhile, the Civil Protection authority has come under fire for not activating the 112 emergency number. [ANA-MPA]

The chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA), Konstantinos Floros, in military uniform seen leaving a meeting of the country’s top decision-making body on foreign affairs and defense matters, KYSEA, on Monday. KYSEA, which convened at Maximos Mansion under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, reviewed the latest developments in the Eastern Mediterranean region amid a sharp increase in tensions with Turkey. Leaving the government headquarters, Floros said: “Everything is fine. Everything will go well.” Meanwhile, the conservative premier will on Tuesday brief Greek party leaders on the latest developments in the region. [Alexandros Vlachos/ANA-MPA]

Kathimerini visited the new, state-of-the-art headquarters of the Civil Protection authority in the formerly abandoned Press Center of the 2004 Olympic Games on Kifissias Avenue in northern Athens. Here the coronavirus pandemic is monitored daily in great detail via a vast array of facilities including giant screens and an operations room by the intrepid members of the anti-Covid task force who process and evaluate all data, both domestic and international. The government’s plans to upgrade Civil Protection capabilities envisage the creation of 13 smaller operations centers, one in each administrative district. [Nikos Kokkalias]

Startups in the travel and hospitality sector have until Thursday, August 13 to apply for the September-December leg of the Hotel Chamber’s CapsuleT Travel & Hospitality Accelerator. Aimed at giving a boost to firms providing innovative applications and solutions to businesses in the broader field of travel and tourism, the initiative is organized with the support of Google and partnerships with Grant Thornton, NBG Business Seeds, Nelios and TUV Austria Hellas. Workshops, mentorships and visits to sector leaders are included. It is also competitive, rewarding the winning firm with 35,000 euros’ worth of support. [Reuters]

A ferry boat is docked at the island of Paros with holidaymakers on board. The month of August is traditionally the time most Greeks go on vacation. [Pantelis Saitas/ANA-MPA]