Update – 15/11/2021
November 15, 2021
Who we are
Action Digital is a full-service digital agency based in Cyprus offering services in web
As of the latest update by the Greek authorities, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece 831,874. 80 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 16,766. The number of patients treated in intensive care units is currently 536. 3,869 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece. 862 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 691 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.
Greece’s premier film festival took an unexpected turn Sunday night when anti-vaxxers showed up outside the theater where the awards ceremony was about to begin and shouted obscenities at arriving moviegoers and festival personnel.
Police intervened to keep back the 400 or so protesters who had been marching through Greece’s second largest city to denounce coronavirus vaccines. They eventually left after throwing numerous flyers.
The 62nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival was well attended during its 10-day run. All moviegoers and festival personnel wore masks and had to produce either a vaccination certificate or proof of recovering from COVID-19 within six months prior to their attendance.
Greece is going through a virus resurgence, with daily infections at record levels and both fatalities and the number of people placed on ventilators rising, putting pressure for on the health system for the second time this year.
The first cracks in the wall of the unvaccinated are becoming visible with the significant increase of first-dose vaccinations, while persistently high infection rates and hospitalizations are placing the National Health System (ESY) under suffocating pressure, and the requisition of Covid beds from the private sector is only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, scientists are calling for mass flu vaccinations, stressing that a possible “twin” attack by the virus may lead to cases of incurable illnesses.
Amid this crisis wreaked by the high infection rates and increased Covid-related hospitalizations, the vaccination situation has offered relative respite with first-dose inoculation rates rising significantly over the last 10 days. On Friday alone, they exceeded 230,000. However, the attempt to create even bigger cracks in the wall of the unvaccinated may prove to be a very difficult ask, as surveys commissioned by the government are finding it extremely hard to establish what convinced those who initially refused or were reluctant to get inoculated. In turn, this difficulty is hampering authorities’ efforts to come up with an effective persuasion campaign.
The surveys also confirmed that the campaigns in favor of vaccination and the goading by health experts on TV are not working. Those who eventually are persuaded to get vaccinated usually do so either due to their personal doctor or a person they trust a lot.
The same research also showed that even the vaccinated, although annoyed at the unvaccinated because of the impact their stance is having on society, do not want to see an extension of mandatory inoculation.
It was found that vaccinated people do want to see an increase in inoculation coverage, but they want it achieved in other ways.
The government clearly expects the coming weeks to be difficult on the coronavirus front and private aides to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledge that there will be days when the pressure on ESY will be particularly intense.
For this reason, the government is pushing for the requisition of more medical staff and services while the issue of large-scale utilization of private sector units is a matter of time. However, it is expected that eventually the system will endure and with the increase in vaccination rates, booster shots and natural immunity, the pandemic will enter a phase of de-escalation by mid-December.
A total of 74,697 inspections were carried out Saturday by authorities, which recorded 376 cases of violations of epidemiological measures.
The National Transparency Authority announced that a total of €134,450 in fines were imposed, while 15 companies were forced to suspend their operation for 15 days.
The main infringements concerned the lack of use of masks indoors and social distancing violations; lack of documentation regarding the maximum number of customers allowed to be inside a store and the store’s rules of operation; and serving customers indoors in restaurants, cafes, bars and nightclubs without a vaccination or Covid 19 recovery certificates; and, for incoming international travelers, failure to complete the electronic Passenger Locator Form.
In more detail, the 3,869 new cases detected per Regional Unit:
