Greece made COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for certain workers while announcing further virus restrictions as infections have risen amid the peak summer tourism season.
“The country will not shut down again because of some,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised address. “It is not Greece that is in danger, but unvaccinated Greeks.”
Nursing home staff will need to get vaccinated immediately, while healthcare workers will have to be vaccinated starting on September 1.
As part of the new measures, only vaccinated customers will be allowed indoors in bars, cinemas, theaters and other closed spaces.
As of Wednesday, Greece has given more than 5,300,000 first shots and about 42% of the general population of 11 million is fully vaccinated.
In an effort to encourage more young people to get vaccinated — with a goal of up to 70% by autumn — the government has offered incentives including cash and free mobile data.
Greece will begin vaccinating teenagers aged 15 to 17 this week.
The country reported 2,938 new COVID-19 cases and 7 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections since the pandemic began to 447,718 and the death toll to 12,813.
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