Starting Friday, Greece will ban unvaccinated people from entering all indoor commercial areas, including bars, theaters and cinemas, until the end of August.

These restrictions are part of a new mandatory policy announced on Monday to prevent the Greek Islands from being blocked again.

Medical staff in nursing homes and private and public hospitals will also be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, otherwise they will face suspension.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised speech: “After a year and a half, no one can claim to know nothing about the coronavirus.” “Because of the attitude adopted by some people, The country will not close again…It is not Greece that is at risk, but the unvaccinated Greeks.”

For more reports from the Associated Press, please see below:

A new policy in Greece will prohibit unvaccinated people from entering indoor public places, including theaters and bars, to increase vaccination rates and prevent another nationwide lockdown. On April 23, an elderly woman was vaccinated against COVID-19 at the Elafonissos Health Center on Elafonissos Island.
ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images

Since late June, the number of COVID-19 infections in Greece has surged, and the authorities blamed it on the carelessness of bars and restaurants and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. The daily number of infections per 100,000 residents in 7 days has risen from 3.5 on June 24 to more than 17 now.

Just over 40% of residents have been fully vaccinated, but the number of appointments to start vaccination has been declining in recent weeks-which has prompted the government to increase pressure on vaccine skeptics.

Authorities will begin accepting vaccination applications for minors over 14 years of age with parental consent on Thursday.

The prolonged blockade and the sharp decline in tourism in 2020 hindered the country’s financial recovery and plunged Greece into a recession. The economy shrank by 8.2% last year. The European Commission stated that if the tourism industry continues to recover and new lockdown measures are avoided, it is expected that output this year and 2022 will rebound by 4.3% and 6%, respectively.

Greece Covid-19
Greece is formulating strict measures to allow more people to be vaccinated to prevent another nationwide blockade. On Monday, tourists watched the changing of the guard of the President outside the Greek Parliament in central Athens.
/Petros Giannakouris/Associated Press Photo