People who have not received their booster dose against Covid-19 on February 1 will no longer be able to access places in Greece reserved for vaccinated people, Greek Minister of Health Thanos Plevris announced on Sunday.
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"
From February 1, anyone who has not received their booster dose of the coronavirus vaccine after a period of 7 months (after the second dose) will be considered unvaccinated
," said Mr. Plevris on the Ant1 television channel. "
The certificate will still be valid, because it is a European certificate valid for 9 months, but they will no longer be able to benefit from advantages such as access to closed places reserved for vaccinated people
", he added.
In Greece, there are more than 7 million people vaccinated out of a total of 11 million inhabitants.
More than 3.9 million people have received a booster dose.
Faced with the surge in contamination linked to the Omicron variant, the government announced on December 29 a new series of restrictions including the ban on music in bars and restaurants in an attempt to limit outings for the New Year.
Read also Covid-19: Greece tightens entry conditions for all travelers, even vaccinated
Teleworking in the public and private sectors has increased from 20% to 50%.
The FFP2 mask or two surgical masks worn one on top of the other have become mandatory for personnel in the catering sector and for going to the supermarket or on public transport.
A total of 1,489,024 infections have been reported since the onset of the pandemic in Greece.
Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, located in the north, where almost half of the country's population lives, are the most affected by the Omicron variant, authorities say.
On December 14, the country announced a record 130 deaths in 24 hours.
The number of daily deaths then fell back below 100. On Saturday, 65 deaths from Covid-19 were recorded, the country deploring a total of 21,328 deaths.