Update – 20/04/2021
April 20, 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 316,879. 78 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 9,540. The number of patients treated in intensive care units is currently 847. 1,607 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece. 675 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 216 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.
Greece has suspended a planned rollout of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccinations but does not expect that to impact its overall inoculation program, authorities said on Monday. Greece had been expected to start Johnson & Johnson vaccinations on Monday before questions emerged over reports of very rare blood clotting disorders associated with the use of the vaccine.
Several countries have suspended or restricted use of the J&J vaccine as well as an AstraZeneza shot after European and British regulators confirmed possible links to rare blood clots.
The head of the national vaccination committee, Maria Theodoridou, said Greece would wait until the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced its review of the issue on Tuesday.
Greece has received 33,600 doses of the J&J vaccines, the secretary general in charge of vaccinations, Marios Themistocleous, told a regular briefing.
J&J vaccinations were “most likely to start in May,” he said.
Tourism workers next in line for Covid-19 vaccine in Greece
Greece’s Tourism Minister Harry Theocharis on Monday announced government plans to vaccinate 280,000 tourism sector workers against coronavirus as soon as those with underlying health conditions have been vaccinated. Along with plans to vaccinate all inhabitants of islands with a population under 10,000, this is part of Greece’s roadmap towards safe tourism this summer.
Theocharis outlined the plan for tourism worker vaccinations in Parliament on Monday. He highlighted that vulnerable people would continue to be prioritized, but that tourism workers would be next to be vaccinated.
Tourism workers’ vaccinations depend on how quickly the vulnerable people in their areas are inoculated. Theocharis stressed that there will also be self-tests available for tourism workers while they await their coronavirus inoculations.
Once the vaccination of tourism workers begins, it will be a relatively quick three-week process, Theoharis says.
Greece’s pilot lifting of its quarantine requirement started yesterday as the country reopened for American, British, EU, UAE, Serbian and Israeli travelers who either are vaccinated, have recovered from Covid-19 or can show a negative PCR test upon arrival.
This soft opening of the tourism sector is expected to help authorities in identifying policy gaps and omissions ahead of the official launch of the 2021 tourism season on May 14, when the travel ban is scheduled to be lifted for visitors and residents alike.
For the time being, however, travelers to Greece will need to follow the same restrictions that apply to residents, such as the nightly curfew and the limited travel between regions.
In more detail, the 1,607 new cases detected per Regional Unit:
