Greek health authorities announced 55 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday in what is the highest jump in the number of cases for weeks.
Authorities say that most of the cases were recorded in Thrace, northeastern Greece, and in particular at the prefectures of Rodopi and Xanthi.
Two communities in these areas, Echinos and Agiasma, have already been placed in a “soft” lockdown quarantine and night curfew.
Two of the last victims to have died in the last 24 hours were from the village of Echinos in mountainous Xanthi, raising the total coronavirus death toll in the country to 187.
Health experts attribute the surge of COVID-19 cases in the area to the neglect of safety measures and overcrowding in the small, enclosed communities of the majority Muslim population. Extended families often gather together and perform their religious rituals at home and as a result, the virus spreads quickly among them and in the community in general.
Just 11 people remain in intensive care units around the country, with the median age of those patients being 69. At the same time, 117 people who were at one time confined to the ICU have now left intensive care and have recovered.
Australians hoping for an overseas holiday have had their hopes dashed, with the Tourism Minister saying the nation’s border is likely to stay closed until next year.
Simon Birmingham said the decision to shut the border was one of the main reasons for Australia’s success in suppressing COVID-19 and it would not be lifted for general travel any time soon.
“I do sadly think that in terms of open tourist-related travel in or out of Australia, that remains quite some distance off,” Senator Birmingham told the National Press Club.
“Just because of the practicalities of the volumes that are involved and the need for us to first and foremost keep putting health first.”
Asked whether that meant the border would not open until next year, he said, “I think that is more likely the case.”
Thousands of Australians are still holding travel credits for cancelled overseas holidays with Qantas and other airline providers.
Now many of them are banking on the pending trans-Tasman travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand to get their travel fix.
The potential trans-Tasman bubble:
Talks between Australia and New Zealand are underway about a potential trans-Tasman bubble.
The bubble could see leisure travel between Australia and NZ by September without the need for any isolation or quarantine period at either end of the journey. Passengers may still need to undergo a COVID-19 test and carry a certificate confirming they are free from the disease.
However, Birmingham suggested that business travel could also see an earlier opening than leisure travel.
“I hope that we can look eventually at some of those countries who have similar successes in suppressing the spread of COVID to Australia and New Zealand, and in working through that with those countries, find safe pathways to deal with essential business travel that helps to contribute to jobs across our economies.”
So, where can I take a holiday now?
Birmingham says people who can afford it should feel “an almost patriotic duty” to support local businesses by taking a holiday in Australia. But current travel options at the moment depend on where you live.
There are no border restrictions in either New South Wales, Victoria or the ACT.
South Australia has opened its borders to Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania, with others to be welcomed from July 20.
Source: ABC News.
Mandatory hotel quarantine has been dropped in the NT while Tasmania’s border closure will be revisited early next month.
Queensland has been working towards a July reopening although Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned restrictions won’t be lifted if there’s active transmission interstate.
While in WA, Premier Mark McGowan is standing firm on his decision to keep the border closed until it’s “healthy and safe” to open again.
MTV has ended its relationship withreality television star Alex Kompothecras over offensive comments he allegedly made on social media.
“We’ve made the decision to cut ties with Alex and are editing the current season to minimise his presence. He will not be in future seasons of ‘Siesta Key,’” the show stated on Twitter.
We’ve made the decision to cut ties with Alex and are editing the current season to minimize his presence. He will not be in future seasons of Siesta Key.
The Greek-American celebrity, who has appeared on all three seasons of Siesta Key, commented with the n-word in one resurfaced Instagram photo. He also commented laughing at multiple other racist posts. He has not commented publicly on his firing or the comments.
Season 3 of Siesta Key returned with a new episode on Tuesday, June 16, but Kompothecras was cut out.
Several scripted and unscripted shows have recently fired cast members over racist comments and behaviour in light of the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.
The third series of My Greek Odyssey will hit
our screens this weekend and it’s definitely not going to disappoint with its
picturesque scenes of the beauty and splendour of the Greek islands.
Set to air on Sunday, June 21 at 2pm on Channel 7TWO, the 8-part travel series invites viewers to several little-known Dodecanese islands including Kos, Astypalaia, Farmakonisi and Lipsi. The geographical location not only means that the Ottoman influence is strong, but the landscapes are much more arid, hot and dryer than other parts of Greece.
To tell us more about what to expect, The Greek Herald spoke exclusively with Peter Maneas, the charismatic host of My Greek Odyssey, and he says this third series has to be his favourite so far.
Peter Maneas, host of My Greek Odyssey, visits Samos in the third series.
“There are so many standout moments for me. We went to
Farmakonisi for instance, which is a military island and no one is allowed on
it. It’s only a square kilometre and it’s so close to Turkey that they need to
put someone on it because if they don’t, it will probably be taken away,” Peter
tells The Greek Herald.
“We got to see the raising of the Greek flag on the
island, which happens every morning as the army plays the national anthem. And
we also found some 2500-year-old watchtowers on the island that even the army
guys didn’t know about. It was amazing.”
Peter’s frequent travels to Greece as a child inspired him to explore Greek islands like Farmakonisi, which are not as popular with tourists, and present their rich cultural and historical heritage to the world.
The flag is raised every morning on the small island of Farmakonisi.
“I’ve had my super maxi ‘Mia Zoi’ (One Life) docked in
Greece for the last ten years and I’m not the kind of person who can just sit
on a boat sunbaking and doing nothing,” Peter explains.
“So I’ve now travelled to well over 150 Greek islands
and when you see the things that I have seen, it’s just not fair to the people
that haven’t had access to these places. It’s just not fair to the Greek
islands and to the public out there not to record this and to not show it in a
way that anyone from five to 90 can watch it and understand it.”
According to Greek tourism experts, Mykonos, Santorini, Corfu, Crete and Rhodes end up getting 40 percent of the 30 million tourists that go to Greece per year. But Peter says the beauty of this season of My Greek Odyssey is that it has really captured the hidden gems that tourists can find on Greece’s remaining 222 inhabited islands.
Peter shows viewers the hidden gems of the Dodecanese islands in the third series.
“I see so many people going to the big islands and they crowd them to the extent that some people go there and are like: ‘Is this the Greek islands? This is like going to Disneyland.’ And that’s not what the Greek islands are about,” Peter says.
“I mean in this series, we go to a tiny little island
of Pserimos which has one beach that gets invaded every day by hundreds of
people who visit from the bigger islands. But after 3pm, there’s nobody left
except maybe 100 hard and fast tourists that spend their whole holidays there.
“We met one couple from the UK who have been going to Pserimos for like 20 years and when we asked them why they kept visiting the tiny island, they said it was about the people. They connect with the people.
Greek hospitality is always on display on the Greek islands.
“There’s different types of people everywhere but the
smaller the island, the fewer tourists, the more visitors, the more homely they
are, the more local the food is. And that’s what we try to look for.”
It’s these heart-warming stories of the Greek people, filoxenia, Greek culture and heritage which people across Australia will also be looking out for when My Greek Odyssey hits our screens this weekend.
Read this article in Greek in The Greek Herald‘s print edition on June 17.
Nick Kyrgios has shown his distaste towards the Grand Slam tournament going ahead under restrictions, yet the Greek-Australian isn’t alone in his worries.
Upon the reveal that the US Open is to go ahead with no spectators, Nick Kyrgios took to Twitter to label the decision as “selfish”.
Smh – people that live in the US of course are pushing the Open to go ahead 🤦🏽♂️ ‘Selfish’ I’ll get my hazmat suit ready for when I travel from Australia and then have to quarantine for 2 weeks on my return.
“I understand the tournaments are eager to run but keeping everyone safe has to be the priority.”
Ashleigh Barty of Australia reacts after missing a shot during her match against Jennifer Brady of the United States at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, said on Twitter the United States Tennis Association will take “extraordinary precautions” to protect players and staff at the grand slam tournament, including robust testing, additional cleaning and extra locker room space.
Despite his reassurances, Men’s World No.1 Novak Djokovic and reigning US Open men’s champion Rafael Nadal also expressed doubts about the tournament.
Spaniard Nadal said earlier this month he would not travel to the US Open in present circumstances, while Djokovic said playing the event this year would be impossible given “extreme” protocols that would be in place.
Nick Kyrgios has recently expressed his doubts over sport carrying on as a whole, responding to the new Ultimate Tennis Showdown tournament.
“I’m just not on board with new tennis events and sport going on in general with everything that’s going on at the moment,” Kyrgios said in a public reply to the UTS Showdown Twitter.
Despite his negative attitude towards the event, organisers of the tournament expressed that they would still love for him to “get involved” and to “get in touch with us if you’re down”.
In what ways can Greece reverse their ‘negative image’ from the public? This question is set to be answered in a public forum, organised by the General Secretariat for Public Diplomacy of the Greek Foreign Ministry.
The forum, titled “Turning the Tide: How to reverse a negative image – The case of Greece”, plans to provide a platform for a vibrant exchange of views and best practices on Public Diplomacy affairs.
The first round of the PD Talks discussion focuses on how to better manage and promote the country’s national image, a priority of the General Secretariat for Public Diplomacy, which gains an additional interest in the post-pandemic era, taking into account the positive momentum reflected in international reports on Greece.
The forum will be hosted by internationally renowned Professors Nicholas J. Cull (University of Southern California) and Stathis Kalyvas (University of Oxford), airing live on June 18th, 2020 at 19:30 (Athens local time).
Welcome speeches by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Diaspora Greeks, Konstantinos Vlasis and Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, Religious and Consular Affairs, Constantinos Alexandris. Renee Maltezou, Reuters political and general news correspondent, will moderate the discussion.
Hundreds of migrants crowded around Victoria Square in Athens on Tuesday night after being forcibly transferred from the Moria refugee camp.
Following an announcement by the government, thousands of people who have secured refugee status must leave facilities such as Moria and the Pyli detention centre.
Migrants have subsequently turned Victoria Square into a temporary makeshift camp, unclear where to reside. Police intervened on Monday to transfer the migrants and refugees to state facilities at Elaionas and Amygdaleza, but it remained unclear if such police operations will continue.
Aniha with her children in Victoria Square. Photo: Efsyn
The problem at Victoria was broached during an Athens City council meeting on Monday with officials underlining the need for authorities to offer food and shelter to the refugees. Nasos Iliopoulos, a leftist SYRIZA official and head of the Anoixti Poli (Open City) movement, on Monday visited the square.
“Local residents and businesses can see that the situation taking shape is reprehensible both for the homeless refugees as it is for the quality of life in their neighbourhood, which is only just starting to recover after a series of crises,” Anoixti Poli said.
Photo: Ekatherimini
The ILIOS program of the International Organization for Migration provides for the rental subsidy for recognised refugees for 6 months, but they must first have found an apartment location.
The situation in Victoria Square is a small example of what Greek streets may become, following the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Notis Mitarakis, insisting on evicting 11,000 refugees from structures and apartments, without solutions for the next day.
The Delphi Economic Forum continues with a webinar on June 18 discussing how Australia is making efforts to enhance cooperation between the homeland and diaspora.
Bill Papastergiadis, one of Australia’s most prominent lawyers, will be speaking at the Forum tomorrow, as he has, among other things, been instrumental in the development of economic and investment relations between Australia and Greece.
The discussion will be held in English and feature panellists:
George Prevelakis, Professor emeritus, Sorbonne University (Paris 1), Permanent Representative of Greece at the OECD
Bill Papastergiadis, Managing Partner, Moray & Agnew Lawyers, Australia
Endy Zemenides, Executive Director, Hellenic-American Leadership Council, USA
Moderator: Antonis Papayannides, Managing Director, Economia Publishing, Greece
The forum brings together over 500 speakers, including political figures, academics, entrepreneurs, and internationally renowned scientists from 35 countries, for four days to share and exchange views, knowledge, innovative ideas, and their vision for the future and developments in Greek, European and global level, in 80 thematic units.
Postponed from March to June due to coronavirus, the theme of this year’s conference, is “Action with Vision”. The program includes lectures, discussions and events that will be developed in 5 thematic pillars, which include individual sections with specialised discussions:
Greece and Israel pledged on Tuesday to work toward a resumption of bilateral tourism in August if coronavirus precautions permit and discussed shared concerns over Turkey’s energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on his first trip abroad since the pandemic erupted, brought a cabinet delegation to Jerusalem in a show of confidence in mutual health measures and to promote a trilateral natural-gas consortium with Cyprus.
Greece opened its main airports to mainly EU visitors on Monday. Israel – some 1.2 million of whose citizens travelled to Greece annually in recent years – is a big market.
Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi (3L) greeting a Greek delegation led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (3R) at Ben Gurion Airport, June 16, 2020. (Shlomi Amsalem/Foreign Ministry)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped that as of Aug. 1 travellers to and from Greece would not be required to self-quarantine – a de facto resumption of airline traffic.
“This also depends on what happens with the coronavirus pandemic, but if the numbers allow it, this is the target date for opening the skies,” he told reporters alongside Mitsotakis.
With Greece, Israel and Cyprus partnered up on energy projects in the eastern Mediterranean, Mitsotakis warned against what he called Turkey’s “aggressive behaviour”.
He cited “recent incidents of illegal and provocative Turkish behaviour at our sea, air and land border” and “the destabilising effect that Turkey has made vis-a-vis its relationship with Libya”.
Photo: Ekatherimini
Turkey, which has declared part of the eastern Mediterranean a shared exploration area with Libya, says it is within its sovereign rights.
“We strongly oppose attempts to violate these rights in a manner that endangers the stability of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, violates international law and runs counter to good neighborly relations,” read a joint declaration.
Israel sees the Greek visit as an opportunity to dilute European opposition to its planned annexation of occupied West Bank land which the Palestinians want for a state.
“We expect Greece to be an anchor of support for us in the Union,” Yossi Amrani, the Israeli ambassador to Athens, told Israel’s Army Radio when asked about the annexation plan.
For someone who wasn’t supposed to live past his first day, John
Coutis OAM looked in remarkably good health when we sat down for our exclusive
chat. Throwing
jokes left, right and centre, it’s clear John is a man full of life, laughter
and most importantly, resilience.
John was born with a rare form of spina
bifida, which rendered his legs useless, but he defied doctors who told his
parents he wouldn’t last a day by “refusing to die.”
“When
I was born, the doctors actually told my parents I was going to die, that I
wouldn’t last a single day. So it was left up to my dad to organise the funeral
and the burial and being the size that I was, my dad was actually going to bury
me in his shoe box. That was my coffin,” John tells The Greek Herald.
“But then I lasted a day. The doctors said I wouldn’t make a week. A week went by. A month rolled on and I turned 50 last year. And you know where those doctors are? They’re dead and I’m still going.”
John Coutis OAM turned 50 last year. Photo supplied.
It’s
this old-school humour when dealing with his disability and some of life’s most
important lessons, which has made John the No.1 Inspirational Speaker in
Australia and also saw him recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2020
for his service to the community and to sport.
But
he also has a serious side. Especially when he’s speaking about his traditional
Greek Australian family and “one of the first loves of his life” – his yiayia.
“A lot of my Greek heritage comes from my yiayia, who has now passed away. She was one of the first loves of my life. She was the matriarch of our family, the greatest cook in the history of the world. I don’t care about any other grandmothers. My yiayia was the greatest cook in the history of the world and the one ingredient that she always put in her cooking, that you could never see but by God you could taste it, was love. It was just amazing,” John remembers fondly.
John with his beautiful yiayia.
John comes from a big Greek family.
“She always had an open-door policy as well. Any time, whether it was 10 o’clock at night or two o’clock in the morning, she would always take us in and feed us and look after us. She was just a pure, pure, wonderful human of love and is dearly missed every day.”
Caring for people seems to run in the family as John also looks out for kids when he visits hundreds of schools every year. His inspirational talks aim to teach students the importance of positivity, respect and resilience, and John says he loves it when his message resonates.
“There’s nothing like with working with the community and giving talks at schools. Every school you go to there’s a lot of different students and if I can help one of those students, one of those teachers even, to think about how lucky they are to have what they have, that’s really rewarding,” John says.
John was recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
“I
think a lot of kids today lack resilience in overcoming obstacles and I just
like to remind them that no matter
who you are, there’s always someone worse off than you.
“If the guy with no legs can do what he
does, what’s stopping you? So you all need to get off your backside and live
your best life. Because if you don’t, I’m going to grow legs and kick your ass.
It’s that simple.”
An important message which John lives by and will continue to preach as he rolls around the world on his iconic skateboard.
