Greece yesterday swore in the first woman president in its history as the country grapples with over 100 coronavirus cases. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, a 63-year-old senior judge, becomes the new Greek head of state for a five-year term. She took a religious oath in parliament before Archbishop Ieronymos, head of the Orthodox Church of Greece.

And she was to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier—Greece’s foremost military monument—before heading to the presidential mansion for a handover ceremony with outgoing president Prokopis Pavlopoulos, parliament said.

Known as low-key and living in a working-class district of Athens, Sakellaropoulou has made it known she prefers to be called Katerina, instead of the more formal Ekaterini.

The ceremony in parliament was drastically scaled back as a result of the virus outbreak, with around 150 guests present instead of a planned 1,000 -- and no handshakes.