Pressure mounting on the unvaccinated
Gov’t makes clear that the inoculated are at front of the line as country returns to normalcy
Insisting that Greece’s economy and people’s social activities are not going to be shut down again to protect the unvaccinated population and that financial support will no longer be offered, the government insisted Thursday that it is vaccinated people who will enjoy the most privileges as the country returns to normalcy.
At the same time it tightened the squeeze on the unvaccinated Thursday, announcing restrictions on interregional travel.
More specifically, it said that if the unvaccinated want to travel to the islands, they can only do so after taking a rapid or molecular test.
The measures come on the back on a series of initiatives this week, starting with the offer of a 150-euro incentive to young people aged 18-25 to get vaccinated. This was followed by the division of companies into those with vaccinated employees and others with “mixed” areas (vaccinated and unvaccinated).
Highlighting the government’s message that the vaccinated can return to normal and the unvaccinated cannot, Deputy Prime Minister Akis Skertsos was emphatic Thursday, stating that there will be no horizontal restrictive measures again from September, but only localized ones, and that these will concern people who have not been inoculated.
At the same time the deputy prime minister also stressed there will be no more financial support for companies, as was the case until now.
On the contrary, the vaccinated, he said, will gradually regain their normal pre-pandemic life along with the rights that were restricted in the previous months, as has already begun to occur.
In practice, this means that during the coming period, if there is a fourth wave of the coronavirus, the measures that will be introduced in Greece will be based on vaccination rates and will target the unvaccinated.
Kathimerini understands that if there is an outbreak of a fourth pandemic wave, there will be a lockdown of companies that accept both vaccinated and unvaccinated workers on their premises.
Tellingly, Skertsos said Thursday that “only 0.28% of those vaccinated have contracted the coronavirus,” suggesting clearly that the risk of contagion among the vaccinated is very small.
