Magic hour during sunset and dusk at Little Venice in Mykonos island. Photo: NurPhoto / Getty Images
The Greek government issued special measures for the island of Mykonos in response to the latest coronavirus outbreak, including a 24-hour "[p]rohibition of music," Deputy Minister of Civil Protection and Crisis Management Nikos Hardalia announced Saturday.
Details: The music ban will kick off at 6 p.m. local time Saturday. A traffic ban will also go into effect between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Sunday, "with the exception of work reasons and serious health reasons," per a release from the country's general secretariat for civil protection.
- Hardalia said the ban would remain in place through July 26, at which point the government would reevaluate.
- The popular party spot is heavily reliant on tourism, with the sector comprising 20% of the local economy, Reuters writes.
Virus cases have ticked up recently in Greece. The country saw 2,688 positive cases Friday, after last month logging between 200 and 600 cases per day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
What they're saying: "We also remind you that in Mykonos, as well as in the whole territory, it is forbidden to hold any kind of events that are held in exchange for any kind of exchange, with the physical presence of a crowd of more than twenty (20) people in private, non-professional space," per the release.
- Those who violate the restrictions will be fined between 50,000 and 200,000 euros.
The other side: Mykonos Mayor Konstantinos Koukas said in a statement on Facebook the move was “unfair” and should be “fixed immediately.”
- “It is a fact that in recent days there has been an increase in cases mainly of younger age, but a number of other parameters should be counted, such as many tests on our island are done on visitors who did not live in Mykonos, but used Mykonos Airport,” Koukas said.