Main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras on Friday repeated a call to the government to back an initiative by U.S. President Joe Biden calling for a waiver on Covid-19 vaccine patents, in a statement to the Greek daily “Efimerida ton Syntakton”. He also criticised the response from Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on this issue.
“Only Kyriakos Mitsotakis could be capable, for the sake of his image, to downgrade an issue that is crucial for millions of peoples’ lives, such as that of vaccine patents, to the ludicrousness of ‘these are my principles and if you don’t like them….well, I have others,’ as Groucho Marx used to say,” the main opposition leader commented.
According to Tsipras, when people were dying because big pharma was putting profits first, it made no difference “who said what first…but how the stance of the Biden administration can be made use of, in practice, to save people’s lives.”
He called on the government to do now “what it has mocked for five months” and “use all means at its disposal so that Europe stops concealing its own responsibility for the current tragedy behind the patents.”
“The pandemic is a historic change. The abolition of intellectual property [rights] for the good of the vaccine is also a historic change, a historic change that we have a duty to follow. Because, as Jonas Salk, the man that discovered the vaccine against polio, replied when asked who owned the patent for the vaccine he had discovered: ‘Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent’,” Tsipras added.
Outdoor sports facilities, indoor gyms to reopen mid-May for vaccinated citizens only, early June for all, says Georgiadis
The detailed plan for the reopening of several more social and professional activities will be drawn and announced this coming week, Development & Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis told Open TV on Saturday.
This will include decisions concerning outdoor marriage receptions and catering services, he added, the aim being to gradually allow more people to attend these.
The minister also underlined his initiative for the resumption of trade expos, so that business owners can begin their scheduling well ahead of those.
Concerning the reopening of outdoor sports facilities (such as municipal swimming pools) and indoor gyms, Georgiadis pointed out that these will resume “at around May 17 for vaccinated citizens only, then at the start of June for everyone else.” More details on all this will also be announced next week, he noted.
Tattoo parlors and wellness centers are also being considered for a gradual reopening, he said.
It would be good if music could be allowed in outdoor cafes and restaurants as of May 15, the date when tourism in Greece relaunches, noted Georgiadis, but the ministry follows the precise instructions of medical experts on this and all such matters, he stressed.
The click-in-shop shopping method (by appointment only) might also be done away with on May 15, he highlighted, as it seems to have slowed down consumers and businesses alike.
Museums reopen on May 14, summer cinemas a week later, says Hardalias
The country’s gradual reopening during the coronavirus pandemic ahead of the tourism season includes Greek museums as of May 14 and open-air cinemas as of May 21, Deputy Minister for Civil Protection & Crisis Management Nikos Hardalias said at Friday’s regular live briefing.
The minister also said live outdoor performances will resume on May 28. All reopenings are accompanied by restrictions in the numbers of people attending and in capacity, such as summer cinemas (75 pct capacity maximum).
Hardalias also reiterated previously announced reopenings, such as kindergartens, primary schools, high school grades 7-9, and frontistiria on languages and college examinations (the latter two for 12th graders only), all of which restart on Monday.
Nursery schools and music schools will reopen on May 17.
Administrative courts will resume their duties on May 10, along with some departments of civil and criminal courts.
Hand-on workshops and lab classes at private colleges will restart on May 17, together with adult education schools, while fee-based beaches are to reopen on Saturday, the minister also reminded the public.
Vaccine effectiveness: lower hospitalization rates
Health experts said on Friday the number of new admissions to hospitals for Covid-19 continues to drop for the fourth week in a row, but cautioned that regional spikes may occur in the near future as a result of Orthodox Easter get-togethers.
Speaking at the regular live briefing, childhood infectious diseases professor Vana Papaevangelou said that it was urgent “to try and be vaccinated before more dangerous variations of the virus show up.” She added that most new infections concerned people aged 20-60. Currently there are 4,900 patients in hospitals, with ICUs occupied by 82 pct nationally, a fourth of which belong to the 35-55 age group, she noted.
Infectious diseases professor Gkikas Magiorkinis, who like Papaevangelou is a member of the Health Ministry’s experts committee on Covid-19, said at the briefing that ICU admissions dropped by 6 pct this past week.
Speaking of vaccination effectiveness, he said that people over 65 years of age have a 10 pct to 20 pct chance of dying of Covid-19 if they become infected, but this possibility drops at least 20-fold if they have been vaccinated. It is nearly impossible for young people who are vaccinated to become seriously ill, he noted.