Update – 18/10/2021
October 18, 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 693,886. 27 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 15,375. The number of patients treated in intensive care units is currently 357. 1,712 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece. 332 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 265 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.
The persistent high Covid-19 infection rates have led experts to consider the introduction of stricter measures in some designated areas.
The areas will be colored purple in Greece’s epidemiological maps, a darker shade than the red that now stands for the highest infection rates.
In purple areas, measures could include mandatory wearing of masks everywhere and double masks in mass transport, according to TV station Skai which broke the news.
Thoughts of adding a new color-coded infection rate designation emerged as the government decided to end measures such as curfews in red areas and to allow the vaccinated to attend entertainment spaces with music and no distancing restrictions.
The committee of experts advising the government on the pandemic is expected to take up the issue this week, Skai reported.
It is not the government’s intention to extend mandatory vaccinations, according to the general secretary of primary healthcare, Marios Themistokleous.
He told Mega TV on Saturday that everything is in a state of flux and hinges on the prevailing conditions at any given time.
“As long as we continue to make appointments, any measure of obligation moves away,” he said.
He added that 190,000 people have received the third dose of the vaccine, while clarifying that the third dose is to strengthen protection, insisting that someone is still considered fully vaccinated without it.
Regarding the vaccination rates in northern Greece, Themistokleous stressed that they are lower compared to the rest of the country.
“We find some people who are hesitant, [get them to] talk to health professionals, and we have managed to convince some of them to get vaccinated.”
Regarding developments in the field of medicine to cure the coronavirus, Themistokleous noted that “there will be medicines, some companies are already announcing results.”
“The EU is in the process of buying, as it has done with vaccines. But drugs will not solve the problem. They will certainly help some people, but the solution to the pandemic is not” treatment but vaccines, he said.
The pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech say they have requested that their coronavirus vaccine be licensed for children aged 5 to 11 across the European Union. If authorized, it would be the first opportunity for younger children in Europe to be get immunized against Covid-19.
In a statement on Friday, Pfizer and BioNTech said they had submitted data to the European Medicines Agency, including late-stage results from a study testing their Covid-19 vaccine in more than 2,200 children aged six months to 11 years, using a lower dose than what’s normally given to adults.
The companies said those results showed a “strong immune response” in the children and that the vaccine was also found to be safe. There are currently no Covid-19 vaccines licensed for use in children younger than 12 in Europe or North America; the shots made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are authorized for children 12 and older in the EU.
A total of 107,700 inspections were carried out yesterday by authorities (police, coast guard, the National Transparency Authority, Market Inspection Agency, Labor Inspection, regional authorities and municipalpolice) and recorded 366 cases of violation of epidemiological alarm measures.
According to the National Transparency Authority, total fines of €108,750 euros were imposed, while 26 companies were forced to suspend their operations for 7 days.
Police conducted all but 9,650 inspections and made 8 arrests.
The main violations concerned non-use of a mask indoors and non-observance of distances, non-posting in a visible place the company’s mask and maximum allowed customer requirements, having too many customers (this for businesses allowing the unvaccinated) and customers not possessing a COVID-19 vaccination certificate.
As noted by the National Transparency Authority, “inspections continue across the country with the main goal of ensuring the implementation of the special operating conditions of companies and focusing on areas of high commercial interest.”
There are also inspections in elderly care and other welfare facilities, as well as on civil servants at their workplaces.
In more detail, the 1,712 new cases detected per Regional Unit:
