The total lockdown of two quarantined villages in the region of Kozani in West Macedonia, northern Greece, was legally lifted on Monday.

The residents of the villages of Damaskinia and Dragasia, isolated since March 16, are now able to communicate with the rest of the world.

The two communities had become a hotspot for COVID-19 infections. To date there have been a total of four coronavirus deaths locally, an exceptionally high figure considering the small population of these villages, which both have approximately 200 residents.

On Monday, however, residents were still urged to stay indoors and refrain from driving to neighboring villages, while municipal authorities noted they will ensure an uninterrupted supply of food and medicines for residents there.

Greece’s state-run AMNA news agency said that the original infections had spread when residents of both villages attended a funeral. Local authorities said, however, that there had been new coronavirus cases that had sprung up since the lockdown of the two villages and their surrounding region.