Greek Patent: Thessaloniki Man Prints Covid Certificate on T-Shirt

A Greek man from Thessaloniki has printed his Covid-19 certificate on a T-shirt to avoid the hassle of showing it from his cell phone each time he is asked.

Speaking to interviewers from the Greek TV station Antenna on Monday morning, Thanasis Gioglos said that his patent will allow him easy access when he will be visiting enclosed spaces.

“I will only move around wearing this T-shirt. I am thinking of printing 4-5 more,” he said. Gioglos recalled that when he appeared at the local football field on Saturday, he was asked to provide his Covid certificate.

“The official was initially dismissive of my T-shirt, but when I insisted that he should scan it, he did and he let me in.”

Gioglos says that the cost of printing the certificate on his T-shirt was 20 euros ($23). He admits that he is not sure what will happen when the garment gets into the washing machine, but he insists that printing his certificate on more shirts is worth the expense.

New rules on Covid certificates in Greece

New rules were introduced last Saturday in Greece to fight a spike in coronavirus infections, focusing on restricting unvaccinated people from entry into retail stores, banks, hair salons, and outdoor cafes/restaurants without tests, and doubling the requirement for weekly tests at work.

Customers νος must present either a full-vaccination certificate, or a certificate of having contracted Covid within the last six months, or negative rapid/PCR test results in order to enter stores, including malls, hair and beauty salons and wellness businesses, outdoor areas of eateries, zoos, and entertainment areas.

The exceptions to this rule include pharmacies, churches, and supermarkets. In addition, young people aged 4 to 17 may provide negative self-tests as alternatives to the four certifications above.

People without tests may order goods by phone or online and physically pick up goods outside the store (curbside service).

Greece registered 4,307 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, with 13 of these identified at entry points to the country, the National Public Health Organization (EODY) said on Sunday.

Since the pandemic began, Greece has confirmed a total of 784,904 infections. Of the confirmed cases of the last seven days, 153 infections are related to travel from abroad and 2,796 to other confirmed cases.

There are also 52 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the total of pandemic victims to 16,295. Of these, 95.4 percent had an underlying condition and/or were aged 70 or over.

A total of 470 patients are on ventilators in hospitals. Of the total, 382 are unvaccinated or partly vaccinated and 88 are fully vaccinated. Another 3,351 have been discharged from ICUs since the pandemic began.