Greece's tavernas, coffee shops close for pandemic protest

Associations representing restaurants and catering businesses in Greece are holding strikes and protests across the country while demanding renewed financial relief from the government due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic

ATHENS, Greece -- Associations representing restaurants and catering businesses in Greece organized strikes and protests across the country Tuesday, seeking renewed financial relief from the government due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Normally busy restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and traditional tavernas in Athens remained closed with chairs flipped onto outdoor tables, including in the Greek capital's historic Plaka district.

Protesters in the northern city of Thessaloniki placed an empty coffin outside a government building, while marchers carried black balloons in the southern port of Patras. Brief scuffles broke out at a rally in central Athens when police stopped demonstrators blocking traffic near the prime minister's official residence.

Greece is currently reporting its highest numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases of the pandemic and the highest COVID-19 mortality rate in six months. The government re-imposed some restrictions that target the roughly one-third of the population that remains unvaccinated.