Despite Cyprus pausing the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Greece will wait to hear from the EU medicines regulator (EMA) before making any decisions.
Until then, vaccinations will continue as planned, the National Vaccination Committee announced.
Germany, France, Italy and Spain joined smaller nations in halting AstraZeneca vaccinations, as there have been a number of cases in Europe of blood clots developing after the vaccine was administered.
The European Medicines Agency is scheduled to convene this week to assess the information gathered into whether the AstraZeneca shot contributed to thromboembolic events in those inoculated.
Latest covid-19 numbers in Greece
Greece recorded 1,134 new cases of COVID-19 in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
This raises the total number of cases to 222,281.
Five hundred and sixty-four individuals are in ICU. Their median age is 68 years. 82.8% have an underlying condition or are aged 70 years and above.
The number of new Covid-19 patients in hospitals in the last 24 hours is 461 (daily change: 8.73%), while the rolling average of hospital admissions in the last seven days is 447 patients.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,494 patients have been discharged from the ICU.
The country’s pandemic death toll stands at 7,137. The median age of all was 79 years and 95.8% of the deceased had an underlying condition and/or age of 70 years or more.
From January 1, 2020 to the present, laboratories that report the total of samples tested have carried out 3,925,165 tests.
SMS 13033 for movement during lockdown
All individuals residing in Greece will be required to send an SMS text message to 13033 in order to obtain permission to leave their homes during the lockdown.
The SMS to 13033 should be formatted as follows: X (one of the digits 1-6 corresponding to the activities below), name, surname and address.
The six reasons (you must SMS) are:
- Visit to a pharmacy or visit to a doctor if necessary
- Visit to a supermarket or stores for essential supplies
- Visit to a bank if e-banking transactions are not possible
- Visit to people needing assistance or escorting children to and from school
- Attending a funeral, as per the conditions provided by the law, or visiting children in case of divorced parents
- Physical exercise outdoors or up to two persons taking their pet for a walk while always observing a 1.5-metre distance.
2-km radius
Individuals are not allowed to travel beyond 2 kilometres of their home to visit supermarkets, food stores and other essential goods shops or to go to the bank.
Similarly, personal exercise or pet walking must be carried out close to one’s home.
*More on GCT: Cyprus suspends AstraZeneca vaccine
