Greece Keeps COVID-19 Measures in Place as Cases Remain High

Greece’s health authorities said this week that COVID-19 measures would remain in place until the end of April, as cases and deaths remain high.

Infectious disease expert Vana Papaevangelou said the country’s COVID-19 committee had decided against lifting any more measures until the end of the month and after Orthodox Easter.

However, despite ruling out the need for a fourth vaccination against the virus last week, Papaevangelou said on Thursday that the committee had “begun to discuss the 4th dose.

“We will be in line with the rest of Europe, but in the autumn, we will probably need a new dose for everyone”, she said. “It still not time to forget about COVID,” she added.

More than 21,000 new COVID-19 cases reported in Greece on Friday

The Greek National Public Health Organization (EODY) reported 21,102 new COVID-19 infections on Friday.

Since the pandemic began, Greece has confirmed 3,051,531 infections. In the confirmed cases of the last 7 days, 181 infections were related to travel from abroad and 1,778 to other confirmed cases.

There were also 60 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the total of pandemic victims in Greece to 27,571. Of these, 95.3 percent had an underlying condition and/or were aged 70 or over.

A total of 351 patients are on ventilators in hospitals. Their median age is 69 years and 91.7 percent have an underlying condition and/or are aged 70 or over. Of the total, 210 (59.83 percent) are unvaccinated or partly vaccinated and 141 (40.17 percent) are fully vaccinated.

Another 4,467 have been discharged from ICUs since the pandemic began.

In addition, 485 COVID-19 patients were admitted to the hospital in the last 24 hours. The average admission of patients with COVID-19 to hospitals over the last 7 days was 441.

The median age of new infections is 36 years, while the median age of the deceased is 79.

The validity of vaccination certificates issued by the government after two doses of a vaccine against COVID-19 and certificates proving recovery from the disease could be extended to match EU directives, Health Minister Thanos Plevris said Friday.

The EU recommends a nine-month duration for the two-dose vaccination certificate and 6 months for the recovery certificate. In Greece, the document proving recovery from COVID-19 is valid for three months while vaccination with two doses is valid for seven months. There is no time limit for those who have received a booster shot.

Plevris also said the ministry is considering scrapping the need to display a certificate when entering a closed venue during the summer months, but no final decisions will be made until next week.