Greece confirmed 4,943 new cases of COVID-19 and 116 deaths, bringing the death toll to 18,716 people.
Despite the alarming number of deaths, Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour that the Greek government would not be implementing further lockdowns.
The Greek leader said vaccinations were the only way to keep the Greek economy active and society open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From 16 January, there will be mandatory vaccinations implemented for people over 60 years and 100-euro monthly fines will be imposed on those who do not adhere to the mandate.
He said that this was “a last resort”.
READ MORE: No more lockdowns for Greece, as new COVID-19 cases continue to hover over 6,000
“I am a liberal politician and I do not like the idea of mandates in principle, however I do believe that we made the right decision, as soon as the Omicron variant – about which we do not yet know much – appeared,” Mr Mitsotakis said.
Commenting on the visit of Pope Francis to Greece and his visit to the Kara Tepe refugee facility at Lesvos, the Greek premier noted that “there hasn’t been sufficient solidarity at EU level in terms of sharing the [migration] burden.”
In the EU, he said, “there are countries that consider migration is not their problem.”
