Following major surge in COVID-19 infections, government imposes tough measures on unvaccinated citizens

With over 6,000 newly confirmed COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours and ICU beds full in northern Greece, where many areas have a vaccination rate of 40 percent, Health Minister Thanos Plevris announced strict measures that will limit the access of unvaccinated people who have not taken a rapid test to all venues except for supermarkets, pharmacies and churches (which have a high percentage of anti-vaxxers).

The rationale for exempting people from showing negative rapid test results in those venues was not explained by the minister, who took no questions at his nationally televised announcement of the new public health restrictions.

Under fire from SYRIZA and others for the government's handling of the flare up of the epidemic and the burden on the National Health System, Plevris said that the government has taken all necessary measures and that private doctors and clinics will be offered incentives to help manage the enormous case load at state hospitals, which are the only ones that treat COVID patients. He said that the ministry has increased the number of ICU beds to 1,300.

He also announced that SMSs will be sent to target groups of unvaccinated citizens and that the government will finally launch a continual, interactive informational campaign ads stressing the pressing need for vaccination.

He called on all citizens to try to persuade those close to them to be vaccinated.

Plevris repeatedly stressed that vaccination is the only way to beat back the surge in cases, and he presented the very tough restrictions on the unvaccinated as a measure to protect their health, as over 85 percent of COVID-19 patients being treated in overburdened ICUs are unvaccinated.

Experts in Greece and elsewhere have long predicted a...