Greece Vows Not to Impose COVID-19 Lockdown-type Restrictions

Greece will not impose COVID-19 lockdown-type restrictions on movement and activities again, Health Minister Thanos Plevris said on Tuesday.

Speaking on SKAI TV, he said that the government does not intend to impose restrictive measures in the autumn and winter.

“We believe that it will not be necessary to impose measures and, in the case it is necessary, any measures will be of the mildest possible level,” the Health Minister said.

Plevris noted that there will be a shift to a new culture, where the government will state what the protection measures are, recommend their use, as well as state which groups are most at risk and where.

Commenting on the use of protective face masks, he said that “extending the use of face masks in specific areas if needed may be examined,” adding that the target was for the mandatory use of face masks to be restricted while at the same time recommending the use of a face mask in certain areas.

Although there was an intense pandemic wave in the summer, this did not result in severe illnesses, the minister highlighted, noting that there were only 130 cases needing treatment in an ICU, a number that was totally manageable.

Plevris also said that the decisions for the protection measures in schools will be reached within the next few days.

Lockdown-type restrictions lifted amidst recent coronavirus infections in Greece

The announcement by Minister Plevris to scrap lockdown-type restrictions comes at a time when the weekly statistics report of the National Public Health Organization (EODY) published on Tuesday confirmed 55,769 new SARS-CoV-2 for the week of August 15th to August 21st.

According to statistics, in Greece, there were 5,346 coronavirus cases for every one million people (weekly change: -25 percent), with 22 percent of the new weekly infections being people who had become infected with COVID-19 more than once.

During the week of August 15th to August 21st, a total of 1,527 COVID-19 patients were admitted to the hospital (218 patients on a weekly average, -22 percent compared to the previous week) while the total number of COVID-19 patients discharged for the same week was 1,474 (211 as weekly average, or -29 percent compared to previous week).

During the same period, there were also 258 deaths from COVID-19, or 25 deaths per one million people (weekly change: -11 percent), bringing the total of pandemic victims since the pandemic began to 32,335.

Since the pandemic began, the confirmed COVID-19 infections in Greece have been 4,712,025, and for all of the people who died, 95.9 percent had an underlying condition and/or were aged seventy or over.

Commenting on the updated COVID-19 vaccines, the Health Minister said that these will unfold in two phases with the first providing protection from the Omicron variant and its sub-variants O-4 and O-5. He predicted these vaccines will be ready by the end of 2022.