The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced that all and every citizen get free self-tests during the winter holiday season. The EU nation continues its battle against the spread of the coronavirus with the launching of the self-testing programme.
Across Greece, the free-test program is designed to allow Greeks to get through the season safely, prime minister said on Tuesday, before a cabinet meeting.
The new approach aimed a helping the nation to avoid spreading of the COVID-19 without bringing the economy and society to a halt. Moreover, the move will definitely decrease a risk that Greece later pays the price for its holiday festivities.
“At this time, our weapons are tests,” PM Mitsotakis said and added that everyone, vaccinated or not, must self-test.
While Greece has only 26 confirmed cases of the omicron variant in a country of 11 million people, health experts say it’s only a matter of time before case loads jump as they have elsewhere in Europe.
Athens also plans to review remote working policies and opening hours for restaurants, cafes and bars in the first weeks of 2022. The government will make decisions on any changes based on the pandemic trend, Mitsotakis said. The premier ruled out any school closures, Bloomberg News reports.
Greece has seen a gradual decline in the number of new daily cases of non-omicron variants in recent weeks, but hospitalizations — mainly of non-vaccinated patients — and fatalities remain at high levels.
