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Update – 26/08/2021

corona virus

As of the latest update by the Greek authorities, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece 570,077. 42 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 13,509. The number of patients treated in intensive care units is currently 332. 3,273 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece. 770 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 319 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.

As the deadline approaches for the implementation of mandatory vaccinations in the public health system next week, the Health Ministry on Wednesday suspended all holiday leave of staff, effective September 1.

The move aims to fill the gaps that will arise from the suspension of employment contracts of workers who refuse to get vaccinated. According to official figures, as of August 19, there were 19,416 hospital staff and 2,248 primary care workers that were not vaccinated.

At the same time, in an eleventh-hour move, the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees (POEDIN) submitted a request on Wednesday seeking the annulment and suspension of the law on compulsory vaccination to the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, arguing that the threat of sanctions against workers violated their constitutional rights of human dignity, the free development of the individual’s personality and the right to work.

What’s more, POEDIN members will go on strike and hold rallies on Thursday to protest the suspension, without however failing to clarify that they are in favor of vaccination. “POEDIN has never been negative on the issue of vaccination, as from the first moment we urged our members to get vaccinated,” the federation said in an announcement, stressing that, as a result of this attitude, “over 82% of public health workers have been vaccinated.”

The president of POEDIN, Michalis Giannakos, told Kathimerini on Tuesday that all the federation is asking for is more time to convince other health professionals to get vaccinated. In response, government officials say time is running out.

“After 18 months of fighting this battle, no one can say, ‘I do not know, I was not told, I did not know,’” Deputy Health Minister Vassilis Kontozamanis said in a televised interview on Wednesday. “There will be no extension, the law will be implemented on September 1,” he stressed.

In July, a day after Parliament voted on the amendment on compulsory vaccination, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred to Paragraph 4 of Article 25 of the Constitution, according to which “the state has the right to demand that all citizens fulfill the obligation of social and national solidarity.”

For her part, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou stressed that the Constitution does not recognize anyone’s right, in the context of his or her own freedom, to endanger the life and health of their fellow human beings.

In more detail, the 3,273 new cases detected per Regional Unit:

  • Attica 770
    • Eastern Attica 106
    • Northern Sector of Athens  99
    • West Attica 59
    • Western Sector of Athens 93
    • Central Sector of Athens 213
    • Southern Sector of Athens 73
    • Islands 23
    • Piraeus 104
  • Thessaloniki 319
  • Mount Athos 1
  • Etoloakarnania 57
  • Andros 6
  • Argolida 20
  • Arcadia 21
  • Arta 7
  • Achaia 122
  • Boeotia 18
  • Grevena 3
  • Drama 24
  • Evros 75
  • Evia 66
  • Evritania 2
  • Zakynthos 14
  • Ilia 97
  • Imathia 32
  • Heraklion 100
  • Thassos 2
  • Thesprotia 25
  • Thira 23
  • Ikaria 10
  • Ioannina 26
  • Kavala 72
  • Kalymnos 14
  • Karditsa 9
  • Karpathos 5
  • Kastoria 22
  • Corfu 53
  • Kepflonia 16
  • Kilkis 11
  • Kozani 54
  • Corinth 35
  • Kos 15
  • Laconia 31
  • Larissa 82
  • Lasithi 32
  • Lesvos 33
  • Lefkada 33
  • Lemnos 4
  • Magnesia 36
  • Messinia 106
  • Milos 5
  • Mykonos 35
  • Naxos 23
  • Xanthi 26
  • Paros 7
  • Pella 41
  • Pieria 49
  • Preveza 23
  • Rethymno 48
  • Rodopi 13
  • Rhodes 93
  • Samos 17
  • Serres 18
  • Sporades 10
  • Syros 2
  • Tinos 2
  • Trikala 9
  • Fthiotida 34
  • Florina 16
  • Fokida 3
  • Chalkidiki 25
  • Chania 70
  • Chios 18
  • Under investigation 147

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