Greece to continue Athens lockdown as COVID cases rise

Greece will not be able to lift lockdown restrictions in the wider Athens area on March 1 as previously planned, following a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday.

Athens metropolitan area, where half of Greece's population lives, has been under strict lockdown restrictions that were set to expire on Feb. 28.

On Tuesday, authorities reported 2,147 new cases, around half of them in the Attica region around Athens, and 22 deaths.