Update – 09/06/2021
June 9, 2021
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As of the latest update by the Greek authorities, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece is 411,534. 30 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 12,331. The number of patients treated in intensive care units is currently 381. 1,339 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece. 672 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 126 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.
A Greek government bill introducing the Covid-19 digital certificate was approved in parliament by a broad majority on Tuesday.
Ruling New Democracy, main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance and Movement for Change (KINAL) voted in favor of the bill, while the Communist Party, Greek Solution and MeRA25 rejected it.
A pilot run of the EU Digital Covid Certificate started in Greece in June, ahead of its introduction across the European Union on July 1.
Greek citizens can obtain the certificate online at eudcc.gov.gr, using their Taxisnet or Social Security Registry (AMKA) number, under three conditions: if they have finished their vaccination schedule; if they had been recently diagnosed with the disease and recovered; and if they have recently had a negative molecular or rapid antigen test.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hinted on Tuesday that the government could make vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory for healthcare professionals and carers in nursing homes.
Speaking during a debate on a bill for the creation of a digital covid certificate, he said that the government’s efforts to persuade the public on the merits of inoculation will “soon” be replaced by its “official position” on the mandatory vaccination of workers working in hospitals and clinics, as well as in elderly care units.
“The government will decide with sensitivity and a clear priority in public health,” he told lawmakers.
In mid-May, Greece’s Fire Department announced that all members of its Special Disaster Unit (EMAK) will have to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to serve in the outfit, as they must be ready to travel abroad at any given time to help in disaster zones around the world.
When social activities return indoors next winter and all adults have secured their inoculation, it will be the right time for the government to consider certain advantages for those who have been vaccinated, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday.
For example, some restaurants might not accept customers who are not vaccinated, but only allow entrance to those who have completed their vaccination, he told an online conference titled “Beyond the Pandemic: A Radical New Approach to Health Security.”
Speaking about the coronavirus pandemic, he said Greece closed its border to all travel earlier than other countries, thus avoiding the full effect of the pandemic’s first wave.
But avoiding the impact of the second outbreak was not possible, he added. Yet the government did invest in its national health system and fared better than richer countries.
The webinar was organized by the Eurasia Group Institute of Geopolitical Analysis and the organization Flagship Pioneering.
Covid-19 self-testing kits required by hundreds of thousands of private and public sector workers will stop being distributed free of charge by people’s local pharmacies by the end of the month, the Association of Greek Pharmacists (PFS) said on Tuesday.
In an announcement, the PFS clarified that deliveries to private and public sector workers registered on the self-testing.gov.gr platform will go ahead as planned through Sunday, supplying them with the three kits they will need to see them through the end of the month, with a weekly test taken before showing up at work.
As far as school students and educators are concerned, the PFS said that pharmacies will distribute three kits to each beneficiary from June 14 to 19, thus ensuring that the rest of the semester and national university entrance exams are seen through safely, but stressed that supply would stop after that.
The news was confirmed by Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Akis Skertsos, who said, however, that “alternative channels” will be available to supply kits to people who are required to produce a negative Covid test once a week to go to work.
He said distribution would continue through the summer but did not specify what these alternative channels will be. He also said that all 18-30-year-olds are eligible for free kits, though it was not clear how they are registered on the platform.
Hailing the self-testing program that was launched on April 12 to facilitate the safe reopening of economic and social activity after a months-long lockdown, Skertsos claimed that it helped contribute to a drop of 73% in the number of new coronavirus infections, 65% in hospital admissions and 53% in the positivity index.
In more detail, the 1,339 new cases detected per Regional Unit:
