April 14, local time, the National Public Health Organization of Greece announced that 3,089 new confirmed cases have been reported in Greece in the past 24 hours, with a cumulative total of 304,184 confirmed cases. There were 81 new deaths and 9135 total deaths on the same day.
Four million doses of the vaccine will be given by the end of May
On April 13, Greek Deputy Minister of Civil Protection Hadalias went to the city of Patras, northwest of the Peloponnese Peninsula, to inspect a large vaccination centre that will be officially opened on the 15th. On the day of the opening, eight inoculation compartments will be put into use first, and the remaining eight inoculation compartments will be operational in a week’s time.
During the visit, Hadalias said Greece planned to complete 4 million doses of the vaccine by the end of May and predicted that it would reach 6 million by the end of June.
When the Large Vaccination Centre in Patras opens, the number of large vaccine centres owned by Greece will increase to five. They are distributed in: Athens 3, Thessaloniki 1 and Patras 1. The total number of vaccination compartments is 412, with 1,650 vaccinations per hour and services for 22,000 people per day.
Experts warn against cross-sectional travel over Easter
George Pavlakis, a researcher and head of vaccines at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, warned in an interview with Greece’s Skai television on Thursday that the Greek government should not lift restrictions on cross-regional travel over Easter because it would increase the risk of transmission of the new coronavirus.
“If I were asked about Easter, my answer would be a disgrace,” Pavlakis said. He noted that the outbreak in Athens appears to have peaked from available data, but that a surge in cases due to the movement of people is likely if current restrictions are lifted. “Now we have to bring the outbreak under control effectively so that we can hope to return to normal life in the summer, ” he said. ”
Traditionally, Greeks who live and work in big cities at Easter return home to celebrate the holidays with friends and family. In order to allow people to return home smoothly while complying with health rules, media reports say the Greek government is now drawing up a plan to allow people who test negative for a virus to travel freely by taking self-testing for the virus.
Further easing of retail restrictions is expected
Greece’s minister of development and investment, Azzonis Georgiadis, said that although it was not until the 16th to have a detailed understanding of this week’s outbreak situation, but so far there appears to be signs of easing. If the momentum continues and the scope of self-testing continues to expand, he said, the government will likely further ease restrictions on the retail sector.
“It’s been nearly 10 days since retail stores reopened, but the opening doesn’t seem to have had much impact on the outbreak, ” he said. However, it will take some more time for us to reach a final conclusion. ”
He said the government’s priority was to keep markets running, and described self-testing as a “super weapon” to bring optimism to society.
After Easter, we discuss the return of primary and secondary schools to school
Greek Education Minister Kayla Meus said on the 14th, about the reopening of junior high schools and primary schools will be discussed after Easter. She said that the Ministry of Education has not yet made any recommendations to the Ministry of Health’s Committee of Experts on Coronavirus Outbreak to reopen lower-grade schools. She added that this week members of the Committee of Experts would focus on socio-economic activity, which will resume next week.
Greece’s high schools were successfully reopened on April 12th as the country’s Coronavirus self-testing programme progressed. According to the requirements, teachers and students back to school when the new coronavirus test results must be negative, at the same time, teachers and students must conduct two self-tests per week, if the test results are positive, must be self-isolation at home.
More passenger segregation rules will be lifted from next week
Greece plans to lift quarantine restrictions on passengers from the European Union and five other countries who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, or who have tested negative for Coronavirus, from next week, a senior Greek government official said.
In fact, as early as March 25, Greece implemented a seven-day policy of not having to quarantine Israeli tourists who have completed vaccinations after entering the country.
“The Greek tourist season will officially start on May 14, but we plan to phase out restrictions on passengers from next week,” a Greek government official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. ”
Passengers from the European Union, the United States, Britain, Serbia, Israel and the United Arab Emirates will be allowed to enter Greece through Athens International Airport, Thessaloniki International Airport, Heraklion International Airport, Hania International Airport, Rhodes International Airport, Kos International Airport, Mykonos International Airport, Santorini International Airport and Corfu International Airport, as well as two land border stations, the official said.
Travellers from the above-mentioned countries do not need to be quarantined only if they have a vaccination certificate issued by the relevant authorities in the traveller’s country of origin and a negative report of nucleic acid testing 72 hours prior to travel. However, when travellers arrive in Greece, they are still required to comply with local pandemic regulations.
