About the extra measures decided yesterday by the national health authorities for Paros and Antiparos

Since today 15th of August 2020 in Paros and Antiparos the following measures will apply:
• Restaurants, cafés, bars, and discos close between midnight and 7:00am
• All kind of festivals, concerts, lives, parties, religious celebrations, bazars are suspended
• Gathering of more than 9 persons, for any reason, are prohibited both in public and in private areas
• Up to 4 persons can sit on the same table in dining areas, or 6 if they belong to the same family.
• It is compulsory to wear a face mask indoors, and outdoors

Many would wonder what the reason of those extra measures is, since the authorities had chosen not to publicize the confirmed cases of covid-19 in each island.
According to our information, the cases in Paros and Antiparos have reached 20, which seems to be a threshold for an area, which can trigger more measures. The decision has been facilitated by 2 more qualitative than quantitative criteria. On the one hand some of the confirmed cases were in a position to be “superspreaders” (barman or waiter) and on the other there has been several cases of youngsters being tested positive after coming back from holidays on Paros and Antiparos.

I do not think that anyone believed that any tourist destination could stay covid19 free. Paros and Antiparos aren’t either. The new extra measures will hopefully bring us back to a pandemic normality in 1 or 2 weeks and make people more aware of the importance of taking seriously health guidelines and recommendations. I’m sure that those planning to visit are able to judge personal risk accordingly. After all we knew from the beginning that this was going to be an incredibly special summer!

And…
• Wear a mask consistently
• Maintain social distance
• Keep away from crowds and large gatherings
• Wash your hands frequently