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Officials in Brussels are reportedly enraged with Erdogan’s behaviour as Reuters reports but they realise that they are essentially being held hostage and they are considering offering new funding to Ankara, effectively caving in to his blackmail.

'Despite the continuous assurances of my Turkish counterpart that Turkey is honouring its commitments from the Joint Statement of 2016, Ankara is brazenly violating it not only proclaiming that the borders are open, but also helping thousands of unsuspecting people to reach our land or sea borders,' the Greek foreign minister said.

The defiance of the decision of authorities to ban carnivals was not linked to socio-economic demands or rights. It was a socially thoughtless and irresponsible act which ignored the whole of society.

'We have just been to the border area and have seen how tense and how difficult the situation is. The Greek authorities are facing a very difficult task in containing the situation and I want to thank the Greek border guards, the coast guards, the civilians, the police, the servicemen and servicewomen, and Frontex for their tireless effort, said Ursula von der Leyen.

The telephone contact with the US president came on the eve a highly symbolic visit of top EU officials to the Evros Greek-Turkish border region

' It is part of the Frontex mandate to assist a Member State confronted with an exceptional situation, requesting urgent support with officers and equipment from all EU Member States and Schengen Associated Countries,' said Frontex executive director Fabrice Leggeri.

The parliamentary committee probing possible abuse of power by the ex-alternate justice minister must operate without vindictiveness despite the rage over what was billed as the greatest scandal since the establishment of the Greek state.

In managing the migration and refugee problem everyone has a duty to adopt a similar stance. as there is no room for autonomous actions or personal political strategies.

The Greek government announced emergency measures to counter an “asymmetrical threat” from Turkey which it accused of directing in a coordinated manner the passage of many thousands of migrants to the land and sea borders of Greece.

At the same time state doctors who conducted tests on 383 crew members of a passenger ship anchored off Piraeus, near Athens and 20 tested positive

An estimated 1,000 migrants gathered at the Greek-Turkish border at Evros where the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Konstantinos Floros and Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysohoidis went today to coordinate and oversee security measures with stepped up ground patrols and monitoring by helicopters.

State services are mobilising, the country’s infrastructure appears prepared to manage the situation, and competent civil servants are in a state of readiness.

COVID-19 is threatening to derail international economic growth which was already pressurised by trade tensions, geostrategic uncertainty, and Brexit.

'This virus has pandemic potential,' WHO DirectoTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. 'This is not a time for fear. This is a time for taking action to prevent infection and save lives now.”

Nineteen lawyers from Mytilini, the capital of Lesvos, have filed a lawsuit against “all bearing criminal responsibility” detailing acts of violence and egregious violation of police regulations during their operations on the island.

In a world in which countries are ever more closely linked and with neighbouring Italy developing into the China of Europe it was simply a matter of time for the coronavirus to reach Greece.

Understanding these facts about the virus is crucial in Greece which is in a process of recovery after a decade-long crisis and fear is an obstacle in the effort to jumpstart the economy.

Who offered these individuals the status of protected witnesses with immunity from prosecution in order to receive so little –mere rumours – and on whose orders?

The coronavirus threat (the first case in Greece was identified today in Thessaloniki) poses a huge challenge to the National Health System and to what is ostensibly the government’s strong suit – the recovery of the Greek economy.

Greece, which has 11 million people but attracts more than 30 million foreign tourists annually, has identified 13 hospitals across the country for treating infected patients.