Greece will most likely extend the pandemic restrictions for one week, health minister Thanos Plevris indicated on Wednesday citing members of the epidemiologists’ committee that is holding its weekly meeting on the course of the pandemic in the country and pressure on the health system.
Speaking to state broadcaster ERT, Plevris said “tThere is a great concern. It appears that the Omicron peak happened much earlier than expected but there is tremendous pressure on the National Health System from the Delta variant.”
Minister Plevris added that while the Omicron variant is at 90% in the community, the percentage is [more evenly] divided in hospitals as there are citizens who were infected with Delta during the Christmas holidays.
“So, it makes sense, in order to monitor the phenomenon, for the measures to be extended. We will wait for the scientists recommendations but there is a common view among all the scientists that the measures should run for 20-25 days and therefore, if there is a decision to extend them, it will be for another week,” Plevris stressed.
Scientists and the health ministry are concerned because of the more serious Delta cases in hospitals and the “hard indicators” of the pandemic, namely the number of intubations and new deaths, which do not appear to be improving at present.
Greece started the week with 101 coronavirus deaths on Monday and 106 on Tuesday.
According to media, restrictions are not expected to be lifted before the end of the month.
The additional restrictions that, among others include, closure of restaurants and entertainment venue at midnight, high protection masks in supermarkets and public transport means, masks in- and outdoors and increased percentage of working form home were imposed on December 30 as dialy infections started to soar.
It looks as though England is taking the opposite approach to the EU (inc Greece). From next Thursday with mandatory face coverings in public places and Covid passports both dropped (news today, who knows if it changes again…). However, I maybe take a previous commentators advice and leave if i don’t like the rules in Greece. If you are over 60 Greek in Greece and have family in England (many do) maybe food for thought, if you do not want the vaccination.
England is already over it’s Omicron peak so it makes sense they begin to drop restrictions. I just hope that Greece and other EU countries will follow as soon as it is visible that not only hospitalisation rates and deaths are declining but also new infections go down in respective countries.