Daily deaths record for 2021 smashed

The largest number of daily deaths from the coronavirus for 2021 was announced Monday, with 105 patients losing their lives while the number of intubations climbed to 608. 

As pressure mounts on the country’s National Health System, and with authorities announcing 7,287 new cases Monday, experts’ calls for people to get vaccinated seem to be bearing fruit as vaccination appointments appear to be on the rise. 

In the last 30 days, 1.2 million appointments were booked for booster shots and 444,000 appointments were made for the first dose of the vaccine, Digital Governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis told Skai TV. At the weekend alone, 187,000 appointments were scheduled for booster shots.

More than 6,910,000 citizens have received at least one dose of the vaccine, a figure that, according to Pierrakakis, will exceed 7 million within a week. Tellingly, unlike what was observed in the previous quarter, when anyone who wanted to get vaccinated could do so even on the same day, more patience is needed now as the waiting time is up to 10 days at some centers. 

The recommendations of the National Vaccination Committee for vaccinated patients who are ill are expected to be announced Tuesday at noon, while booster shots on small islands are already being administered and will continue next week.

Meanwhile, as a raft of new restrictions were introduced Monday aimed at curbing a spike in Covid-19 cases, the government ruled out a return to a general lockdown, but Health Minister Thanos Plevris said the current measures would be reassessed in two weeks.

“We have not yet reached absolutely restrictive measures for the unvaccinated as has happened with other countries,” he said Monday in comments to Antenna TV.

The measures include mandatory mask use at workplaces, as well as staggered working hours in the private and public sector to prevent overcrowding on public transport. They also ban unvaccinated adults from entering indoor recreation and entertainment spaces. What’s more, further capacity limits and entry restrictions have been imposed at courts and places of worship.

Referring to the issue of compulsory vaccination, Plevris reiterated that “the government has said very clearly that this measure only concerns health professionals and those who work with people who belong to vulnerable groups.”