All unvaccinated staff in food and tourism in Greece need to be tested twice weekly for coronavirus, the government announced on Thursday.
At a regular briefing, Deputy Minister for Civil Protection & Crisis Management Nikos Hardalias said the results of a rapid test and a self-test would need to be entered into the Ergani labour platform. He did not specify when the measure would go into effect.
This measure was initially announced for the same sectors on July 15 at six popular tourism regions of Greece - including Mykonos, Santorini and Paros - and went into effect the following Saturday (July 17).
Regarding the temporary social restrictions introduced on Mykonos on July 17 through July 26, the minister said there would be reevaluated in the coming days. He noted that conditions appear to be effective as current pandemic figures on the island show the high infection rates stabilizing with a slight downward trend.
Doctor Vana Papaevangelou, a Health Ministry coronavirus committee member, said at the briefing that the spike in new infections observed in the country during the previous week is on the decline.
However, Covid-19 is still spreading, and the median age of new infections is now 26 years, she added. She also noted that hospitalizations have increased by 70 pct, but there is no corresponding increase in patients who require intubation.
