Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-04-23

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Schools of all levels close as lethal viral infections raise fears of

[02] Papademos attends endorsement hearing for ECB vice president

[03] Cultural festival dedicated to Greece begins in Virginia

[04] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[05] Weather Forecast: Cloudy on Wednesday

[06] ASE finds support at 2,200 level on Tuesday

[01] Schools of all levels close as lethal viral infections raise fears of epidemic

All state and private educational institutions will remain closed from Wednesday to Friday as the Center for the Control of Special Infections decided that the increasing number of heart problems related to viral infections around the country may suggest the onset of an epidemic. The announcement was made by Health and Welfare Minister Alekos Papadopoulos on Tuesday.

The closing of schools will be extended for another 15 days as Orthodox Easter holidays begin on Monday and last for two weeks.

About ten days ago three lethal cases of viral infections, two in Crete and one in northwestern Greece were reported, while since last Thursday 32 non-lethal cases were reported in around the country. In all cases the viral infections of the respiratory system led to myocarditis, a disease that causes severe heart tissue damage and fluid retention in the heart cavity.

Health minister Papadopoulos, in an unscheduled press conference, also called on citizens to maintain strict personal hygiene and be very careful in preparing their food, adding that the possibility of contracting related viruses by kissing and by droplets in the air in closed spaces.

The minister underlined that 13 of the cases were reported in Athens and another 19 around the country, with Macedonia and Thrace being the only regions where cases were not reported to date.

[02] Papademos attends endorsement hearing for ECB vice president

BRUSSELS (ANA/M.Spinthourakis) - The head of the Bank of Greece, Lucas Papademos, on Monday attended an endorsement hearing for his recent nomination as vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB).

The routine hearing was called by the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee, which is due to vote on his appointment on Tuesday.

Papademos outlined his view of the ECB as a vehicle for price stability in the euro zone, and as a body independent of member-state governments although accountable to them in terms of communicating policy and practice.

The attainment of monetary stability, high growth rates and lower unemployment were complementary objectives, he added.

[03] Cultural festival dedicated to Greece begins in Virginia

WASHINGTON (ANA - T. Ellis) - A cultural festival dedicated to Greece began on Monday in Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters of NATO's Allied Command Atlantic (SACLANT).

The festival each year honours one of the 19 NATO member countries and aims at strengthening cultural exchanges.

The week-long festival will project the cultural heritage of Greece at this important U.S. naval base. It will include photographic exhibitions, film projections, music, parades, traditional dances and Greek cuisine and wine.

The cultural festival was inaugurated with a photographic exhibition entitled ''Aegean: Pictures of Greece'', which is presented by the Greek Press Ministry.

Present at the events will be the Supreme Commander of SACLANT. General William Kernan, Greek Ambassador to Washington Alexandros Filon, the mayor of Norfolk and other local officials.

[04] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Indicative tourist buying rates per euro

U.S. dollar 0.894

Pound sterling 0.618

Danish kroner 7.490

Swedish kroner 9.264

Japanese yen 116.3

Swiss franc 1.480

Norwegian kroner 7.653

Cyprus pound 0.580

Canadian dollar 1.406

Australian dollar 1.662

[05] Weather Forecast: Cloudy on Wednesday

The day will be cloudy in all parts of the country, turning to showers and storms mainly in Macedonia, Thrace and the northern Aegean. Rain and storms may occur on the rest of the mainland from late afternoon. Winds northerly, light, turning moderate at sea. In the north, temperatures will range from 7C to 18C; on the rest of the mainland from 10C to 22C; and in the islands from 13C to 20C. Rain may fall north of Athens from early evening with temperatures between 12C and 20C. Rain and storms in Thessaloniki mainly later in the day, with temperatures from 9C to 18C.

[06] ASE finds support at 2,200 level on Tuesday

Greek equities remained under mild pressure but the Athens Stock Exchange found support at the 2,200 level on Tuesday.

The general index ended 0.19 percent lower at 2,200.18 points, with turnover a low 76.57 million euros.

Blue chip stocks suffered the heaviest losses, while traders said that buying focused in medium- and smaller capitalisation stocks.

The Retail, Construction and Food-Beverage sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (3.0 percent, 1.32 percent and 1.27 percent, respectively), while the Insurance, Telecommunications and Bank sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (0.93 percent, 0.83 percent and 0.69 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks fell 0.44 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index rose 0.74 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 0.44 percent higher.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 172 to 116 with another 65 issues unchanged.

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