Greece confirmed 2,938 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, with seven of these identified at entry points to the country, the National Public Health Organization (EODY) reported on Wednesday.
Anti-vaccine gatherings took place in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patra and Crete on Wednesday, with some protestors waving Greek flags and holding wooden crosses and singing the Easter Hymn of Christos Anestis (Christ has Risen).
In Athens, more than 5,000 people gathered to show their opposition to the government’s measures to contain the virus.
“Take your vaccines and get out of here!” some shouted, calling on Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to resign.
“Down to Mitsotakis’ junta!” they yelled.
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There was a heavy police presence at Syntagma’s Square in the largest show of opposition to the country’s inoculation drive to date.
In recent polls conducted for Skai TV, Pulse media research company found that most Greeks said they were willing to be vaccinated and the majority of the population said they wanted vaccinations to be made mandatory for some segments of the population.
At this stage, 41 per cent of Greeks are vaccinated.
In an effort to slow down the spread of COVID-19, the government ordered the mandatory vaccination of healthcare workers and said that those who refused would be suspended.
The COVID Free App has also been introduced.
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Protestors, however were outranged by the push.
Dr Faidon Vovolis, a cardiologist who heads the Free Again movement rejects the scientific findings concerning COVID-19. “Every person has the right to choose,” he told Reuters. “We’re choosing that the government does not choose for us.”
In Greece, there are more than 444.700 people who have been infected since the start of the pandemic and 12,782 deaths, a large portion compared to the country’s 11-million population.