How many friends are you supposed to have as a person? Five? Ten? Fifty? Greece’s Health Ministry believes to know better. “If authorities tally up more people than taking into consideration at the New Year’s Eve party, they will fine you,” TV channels report with emphasis on Thursday citing sources from the Health Ministry.
The governmental threat emerging directly from Orwell’s dystopian “1984” refers to private parties at the New Year’s Eve as the new restrictions to contain the spread of coronavirus go into force from December 30, 2021.
The government may have banned music in public places but did not dare to impose the same ban in private gatherings at homes or to limit the number of participating people, as it did, for example, in the first year of the pandemic.
Yet the government boldly insists to want full control over the situation when everybody knows that it cannot.
Hours after the measures announcement early Wednesday noon, Greeks – especially the young ones- started to organize their parties away from the public eye with crowd of people, music, booze and dance.
The ambitious and control-freak health minister quickly came after those “rebels” and suspected the inevitable: that they will book Airbnb for the sinister parties on the last day of the year.
Therefore, also the warning that authorities will tally up and fine you if they believe you’re not worth as a person to have so many friends at your party.
According to the relevant ministerial decision published on the official Gazette on Thursday “it is forbidden to hold a party event in a public or private place, in order to avoid the transfer of entertainment to other places.”
Heavy “fines will be imposed from today [Dec 30] until January 16 for the organization of parties and other events in private spaces, in an effort to limit the corona-parties that can have catastrophic effects in the next 24 hours, ie on the Eve but also on New Year’s Day.”
The fine starts at 50,000 euros and reach 200,000 euros if the organizer or host of the party in a private place is caught to violate the law for a second time.
A question that needs to be answered is: How will authorities get access to a private home to count one by one the guests without prosecutor’s order?
And how will they figure out if there is an organized party going on somewhere in A or B or C? Respond to a bitter neighbor’s phone call and denouncement? Follow the music?
All these nonsense of policies are tempting me to put loud music on tomorrow night and leave only the cat back home.
I could also invite some 50 people and wait for authorities to come and tell me I don’t deserve to have 50 friends because I’m grumpy and whiny and I’m a bad host for I’ve only beer & chips or have burned the puff-pastries in the oven.
Seriously?
It’s very disappointing to find people criticise the government forgetting that the daily record of infections is what dictates the response.
The effort to contain the virus is not an easy simple one.
Indeed personal liberty is at stake but I think the same people who criticise the decisions made are the same who will regret opposing them if they get infected and end up with long term lung damage for example. Something I witness day in day out in my profession, people dying unnecessarily by avoidable deaths, only because either they were reckless or came across a reckless person.
It’s a sad situation we all living in! Happiness has become a rare commodity only a few who are lucky enough to have the means for.
But believe me, happiness doesn’t exist with poor health or indeed death.
since you have not being a blog follower: What we criticize here -and most of the time -is that the government is putting the political cost above the people’s health and does not take preventing measures in time. They could have imposed these restrictions regarding entertainment before Christmas and subsidize businesses that would be affected by them.
Furthermore, the gov’t has been sending controversial messages reg. the pandemic all the time and failed to have a proper vaccination campaign to convince people set aside their fears. and so on and so on…
I didn’t see your comment KTG until I had posted my reply to Chris. Of course I 100% agree with you. Although I am extremely grateful to have been vaccinated here in Greece, getting the Certificate to prove this is still ongoing, in my mind there’s no doubt that the system is unnecessarily complicated, it’s unbelievable how many different numbers we’ve been issued with, sometimes saying….well it’s Greece what do you expect?….ceases to be a joke.
Happy New Year, Best wishes for 2022 and please keep up the good work we need you!
🙂
I completely agree with you Chris. Yes we are all really fed up with the rules and restrictions, however, what other action can Governments around the world take? Do those that oppose getting vaccinated, or even the vaccinated people, who decide the regulations don’t apply to them, not realise the Government’s are not against them, they are trying to save as many of their people as they can, not only from dying but also from serious life changing long illnesses and at the same time, are trying to keep the Hospitals from being overrun. All the Health Services are maned by people, people that are working non stop and deserve the highest consideration, from everybody!
So what happens if people do not criticize the government or hold them accountable? I would be more disappointed if this was the case. If i say other countries using different protocols are doing a better job than Greece are you disappointed as this infers criticism. There are plenty of countries whereby if you criticize the government you will be in deep trouble – Greece is not one of them (well i hope not…). There are disparate views on the best way forward amongst KTG readers and i feel this should be applauded. The “whaf if” scenario……this can be stated for decisions in every aspect of life. I am sure there are people who have regretted not taking the vaccination and I am sure the opposite is true also. I also do not write off all people who have ill health as grumpy!
Perhaps there should be a reciprocal arrangement where Ministers are fined on their performance. Let’s fine the Ministers for all excess deaths (per 100k) as a result of their policies compared to Japan.
Could everyone (especially keeptalkinggreece) slow down. Omicron and other incarnations of the virus are raging, citizens and authorities are attempting to protect the grander good by following the rules, so a few years of small gatherings or no gatherings is not going to obliterate your happiness. Joy is in you, if you let it be. Happy New Year everyone!