The Greek government announced that starting next month, all indoor restaurants, bars, clubs and entertainment venues will ban citizens who have not received the Covid-19 vaccine from entering.
The comprehensive ban is one of a series of severe measures announced by the Minister of Health, as the country is caught in the fourth wave of pandemic and is fighting a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths.
“These measure It’s not punitive,” Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias said on Tuesday. It is our responsibility to protect our own people. “
According to regulations that are expected to be implemented from September 13 to March 31, people who have recovered from the coronavirus will also be allowed to enter various venues ranging from taverns to high-end restaurants, late-night clubs and bars.
Free testing of people who have been vaccinated will continue.
But Kiquilas described these restrictions as an obligation of “a responsible country”, he said that customers must provide proof that they have been vaccinated or have recovered from the disease, and verified at the entrance of the premises by scanning the Covid app Check -19 certificates.
The same rules will apply to indoor and outdoor stadiums.
Other venues, including theaters, movie theaters, museums, and archaeological sites, will allow access by unvaccinated people, but only if they provide proof of a negative rapid test performed within 48 hours. He said that the current free rapid test will cost 10 euros for all people who have not been vaccinated.
Starting in September, unvaccinated workers in the public and private sectors will also be required to undergo rapid testing at least once a week. Staff in academia, tourism, restaurants, cafes, bars and other forms of entertainment, as well as school and university students, will be obliged to take quick tests twice a week, and only students at school are eligible for free tests.
An estimated 5.6 million people have been fully vaccinated Greece, A country with a population of approximately 11 million. However, due to the strong resistance of the elderly and young people to the vaccine, the infection rate in recent weeks has steadily increased with the number of deaths, hospitalizations and intubation. On Tuesday, health authorities announced 4,608 new cases — the highest number since the pandemic broke out — bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 566,812. The death toll climbed to 13,455, and an additional 32 deaths were announced.
According to center-right government officials, approximately 91% of Covid-19 patients in Greek intensive care units have not been vaccinated.
During the debt crisis of the past decade, the country has been severely hit by strict cuts and other austerity policies. The country’s ICU bed capacity exceeded 68%.
Kikilias said: “Thanks to the vaccine, we will no longer renovate hospitals to give priority to those who are seriously ill with Covid.” He added that vaccines are now available for free, and professional, financial and social life is impossible. “Suspended”.
“On the contrary, it is neither fair nor ethical for the majority of citizens who have been vaccinated and have no other illnesses and who are of course entitled to proper care.”
From September 1st, health care and nursing home staff who refuse to be vaccinated will be suspended.Kikkillas said he confirmed that as Greece’s struggle with the coronavirus delta variants intensifies, there will be no grace period for those who refuse to comply.
Last week, Germany announced that several parts of this tourism-dependent country, including some of the most popular islands and high-risk areas, are forcing unvaccinated travelers returning from Greece to quarantine for five days. There is widespread speculation that Britain will follow suit this week.
