CoronaVirus now confirmed on Crete

[ros21m]

Unfortunately, Crete now has it's 1st confirmed case! https://www.cretalive.gr/kriti/proto-ep ... stin-kriti. Shortly after it's announcement, I received a Health warning Alert, on my mobile phone, in both Greek & English,

[Kilkis]

I also got the emergency alert on my mobile while in the local café this evening. The friends I was with, who are a similar demographic to me, did not. From the description I think the case must have been diagnosed at the University General hospital in Heraklion.

Warwick

[ros21m]

Yes, it was diagnosed at PAGNI, only a few kms away from me. A male, 45 years old from the Heraklion area, recently returned from a trip to Athens.

[amaerl]

I did not kow that I was signed up for emergency alerts, so the call came as quite a shock!

[bobscott]

I also got the emergency alert on my mobile while in the local café this evening. The friends I was with, who are a similar demographic to me, did not. From the description I think the case must have been diagnosed at the University General hospital in Heraklion.

Warwick

Don't recall ever having been advised of the emergency alerts. Certainly got nothing on our mobile. Any clues? Bob.

[Kilkis]

No idea what determines who gets the alerts, Bob. Like Amaerl, I had no idea that I was signed up for emergency alerts so it was a shock to me too. I certainly can't remember signing up for them. As I posted earlier, the ex-pat friends I was with who are around my age, one who has IKA through an S1 and one who doesn't, both with Permanent Residence Certificates and both having lived here for many years didn't receive an alert. I asked the Greek café owner what was happening and he just said, "Don't worry, they are sending them out to lots of people."

Warwick

[Tim]

My Greek SIM is on OTE - perhaps I was automatically signed up for alerts when I bought it? After the alert I was given the opportunity to switch alerts off. I was dining with friends in a local taverna when loads of phones went off at once. The sound that accompanied the alert was far more frightening than the message contained!

Tim

[Kilkis]

My Greek SIM is on OTE - perhaps I was automatically signed up for alerts when I bought it?...

Mine is Vodafone so it certainly isn't provider dependent.

...After the alert I was given the opportunity to switch alerts off...

I wasn't offered the option to turn off alerts after I received it but I have just checked in my message settings and all alerts are turned ON. It looks like this is a general specification that you don't need to sign up for but you can control your phone's response. You can turn everything OFF except Presidential Alerts. The types are Extreme, Severe and Amber. The one I received does not have a category name on it but it has a symbol at top left that looks like an orange circle with a white triangle in it and an orange exclamation mark inside the triangle. Not sure what category that is. Perhaps Amber?

...The sound that accompanied the alert was far more frightening than the message contained!

Tim

I totally agree with that. I have an alarm, set for 10 pm to remind me to take a couple of tablets. This emergency alert went off about 15 minutes before that was due. I wondered if World War III had started.

Having done a bit of digging it looks possible that these types of alert might only appear on smart phones, i.e. iOS, Android or Windows so anybody with an old style phone might not receive them? I'm not sure about that but I know that the two friends I was with have old style phones.

Warwick

PS The service only became active in August 2019 when alerts were sent out not to start fires. I think it became more fully operational at the end of 2020. I guess we can expect to receive more messages as COVID-19 progresses and new counter measures are deployed.

[RetiredRailwayWorker]

Unfortunately, Crete now has it's 1st confirmed case! https://www.cretalive.gr/kriti/proto-ep ... stin-kriti. Shortly after it's announcement, I received a Health warning Alert, on my mobile phone, in both Greek & English,

Quick get down the shops !!!!! Empty the shelves!!!!

[Carolina]

The emergency alert details are here :
You don;t need to sign up to them, but:
' If you have a smartphone, you will receive a warning message (Cell Broadcast – CB) that will appear on your screen, and your device will alert you with a unique sound and vibration. You only need to upgrade to the latest version of its operating system and make sure your device is set to receive CB alerts.'

https://112.gr/en-us/Home/fbclid/IwAR3U ... TRBK6OezVE

I was out in a taverna last night, half of our phones started bleeping and 'speaking' one after the other. .. a WTF moment!

[bobscott]

Ours is certainly an 'old' phone. Smart phones weren't invented when we bought our mobile! Just looked at settings and found what is called 'Broadcast messages' set to OFF so I have changed that to ON and wait and see. It's a COSMOTE Sim card. Bob.

[Carolina]

More details on the Heraklion case - he's a 45 year old accountant. The tax office and OAED office in Heraklion have been closed today for deep cleaning.

His travel companion works at Hersonissos dimos and the Hersonissos Dimarxio has closed for 48 hours.

https://flashnews.gr/post/419118/logist ... RGI1u7-U-E

and

https://flashnews.gr/post/419114/kleist ... sthn-krhth

[Carolina]

The SPECIAL PHONE NUMBER to call in Greece is 1135 if you suspect you have symptoms.

Don't travel to a hospital, clinic or doctors office.

[bobscott]

The SPECIAL PHONE NUMBER to call in Greece is 1135 if you suspect you have symptoms.

Don't travel to a hospital, clinic or doctors office.

Useful information Carol. Thank you. Bob.

[BST]

Having just listened to Boris, I am so glad I live here!!