Greece allows music in bars and restaurants again as COVID-19 cases ease

28/1/2022 7:07

        Greece will allow music in restaurants and bars again and extend their operating hours as it lifts some of the restrictions imposed last month now that
        coronavirus infections and the pressure on hospitals are easing, authorities said on Thursday.
        
        The country last month forced bars, nightclubs and restaurants to close at midnight, with no standing customers and no music, following a surge of cases over the Christmas holidays due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
        
        "We have decided to scale back the restrictions, taking into consideration the course of the pandemic in terms of cases which have been declining in recent weeks," Health Minister Thanos Plevris said in a televised statement.
        
        He said that despite ongoing pressure on the health system, the rate of hospital admissions and discharges and a shorter duration and less severe illness for the Omicron variant compared to Delta allowed authorities to ease the curbs.