Civil Protection Deputy Minister: Only seated customers in bars
coronavirus
07 Jul 2021
/ 09:44
ATHENS. Civil Protection Deputy Minister Nikos Hardalias announced new measures following the spike in cases.
In his emergency briefing, Nikos Hardalias said that only seated customers will be allowed in catering establishments and that fines will also be issued retrospectively.
Staement from Civil Protection Deputy Minister:
"We are following the data on a daily basis. Over the last few days the data has indicated that we must be vigilant. It is just a matter of time before the Delta variant becomes prevalent and the unvaccinated are in danger of becoming seriously ill. Since Monday the number of cases has tripled and tracing shows that the cases are amongst very young age-groups and are connected with leisure activities. For the time being, however, this increase in cases has not led to increase in hospitalisations.
According to EODY, the average age for the cases is 27. Over the last few days hundreds of cases have been recorded at entertainment centres. In South Athens 66% of the cases are in the 16-24 age-group. As long as 40% remain unvaccinated the Delta variant is a direct threat to their health and, unfortunately, 99% of the serious cases are unvaccinated.
There are three messages: Get vaccinated immediately; young people should avoid contact with their parents - get vaccinated and take tests regularly. Self tests are freely available for all young people and employees in the public sector until 10 July. Regular testing is especially important for those who haven't been fully innoculated.
From Thursday 8 July, only seated customers will be allowed in catering establishments and they will follow Development Ministry regulations.
Any businesses found to be in violation of the measures will be fined immediately and their businesses closed from the following day for seven days. If there is a second violation, the penalty will be €10,000 and after a third violation the licence will be revoked.
Penalties may also be imposed retrospectively based on evidence from social media.
We can understand that young people want to enjoy themselves but I call on them to get vaccinated immediately. This is not over. We must get innoculated, take regular tests and protect those older than ourselves."
Staement from Civil Protection Deputy Minister:
"We are following the data on a daily basis. Over the last few days the data has indicated that we must be vigilant. It is just a matter of time before the Delta variant becomes prevalent and the unvaccinated are in danger of becoming seriously ill. Since Monday the number of cases has tripled and tracing shows that the cases are amongst very young age-groups and are connected with leisure activities. For the time being, however, this increase in cases has not led to increase in hospitalisations.
According to EODY, the average age for the cases is 27. Over the last few days hundreds of cases have been recorded at entertainment centres. In South Athens 66% of the cases are in the 16-24 age-group. As long as 40% remain unvaccinated the Delta variant is a direct threat to their health and, unfortunately, 99% of the serious cases are unvaccinated.
There are three messages: Get vaccinated immediately; young people should avoid contact with their parents - get vaccinated and take tests regularly. Self tests are freely available for all young people and employees in the public sector until 10 July. Regular testing is especially important for those who haven't been fully innoculated.
From Thursday 8 July, only seated customers will be allowed in catering establishments and they will follow Development Ministry regulations.
Any businesses found to be in violation of the measures will be fined immediately and their businesses closed from the following day for seven days. If there is a second violation, the penalty will be €10,000 and after a third violation the licence will be revoked.
Penalties may also be imposed retrospectively based on evidence from social media.
We can understand that young people want to enjoy themselves but I call on them to get vaccinated immediately. This is not over. We must get innoculated, take regular tests and protect those older than ourselves."
