Greece recorded a spike in COVID-19 infections with 2,065 new coronavirus cases recorded in the last 24 hours and 10 deaths, according to the Greek National Public Health Organisation (EODY).
The new deaths take the total number of fatalities in Greece since the start of the pandemic to 12,802, with 95.2 per cent of these having had an underlying condition or being more than 70 years of age.
There are currently 139 patients on ventilators in hospitals around Greece, and 85 were admitted to hospitals in the last 24 hours bringing the daily percentage rate up by 30.77 per cent.
In particular, Thessaloniki noted a 250 per cent spike in COVID-19 in a week. Thessaloniki’s Mayor Constantinos Zervos told an online meeting of the city council on Monday that there were 324 active infections from 113 active cases the Monday before.
Vaccinations for teenagers and health workers
Greece has enforced mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers, with Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis necessitating bookings, particularly for aged care workers who have 34 days to book vaccinations or risk being suspended. At hospitals, both state-run and private, workers need to book their vaccinations before the 1 September deadline.
“After a year and a half, no one can claim ignorance about the coronavirus anymore,” he said during his televised national address.
“The country will not shut down again due to attitude adopted by certain people … It’s not Greece that’s a danger, but unvaccinated Greeks.”
Commercial areas, such as bars and theatres, will be open exclusively to those who are vaccinated until the end of August.
In an effort to stamp out the virus, teenagers aged from 15 to 17, will be able to book vaccination appointments from Thursday.
Greece’s Health Secretary General Marios Themistocleous told Monday’s regular live briefing on the coronavirus pandemic that appointments can be set by the parents of the teenagers via taxis.net, and he added that it was a requirement that parents accompany their teens to the centre.
Next-day vaccination appointments for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available daily inb Greece, while appointments for the Pfizer vaccine are available within three days, Mr Themistocleous said.
At the moment, 41 per cent of Greece’s population has completed their vaccination (more than 9.3 million people), and 70 per cent of those aged over 70 have received at least the first dose of their vaccination.
National Vaccination Committee Chair Maria Theodoridou stressed the importance of vaccination to slow down pandemic waves, especially as far as the transmission from younger to older adults are concerned.
“Vaccination slows down and inhibits new mutations, and also reduces both the viral load and the virus’ spread,” she said, recommending vaccination for university students.
