A toughened second lockdown not working to sufficiently hold down COVID-19, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Feb. 9 brought together government officials and health authorities to discuss stricter measures requiring people to stay home.
That would be similar to the first real lockdown in March 2020 that lasted 10 weeks after a second more lenient version that began Nov. 7, 2020 – too late, he admitted – didn’t work, despite rejiggering.
Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias, Deputy Minister for Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias, and the President of the National Organization for Public Health (EODY), Panagiotis Arkoumaneas, were called to attend, said Kathimerini.
It comes after Kikilias said in a TV interview that expert reports submitted to the Health Ministry show more stringent measures are needed in the capital and surrounding area where cases have been rising.
That has seen more hospital admissions and people on ventilators in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) although the New Democracy government on Jan. 25 had added more restrictions after complacency brought a resurgence.
“We have been waging an unequal battle with the coronavirus for the past 11 months and have managed. Now the battle is against time, meaning until we can get 60-70 percent of the population vaccinated,” Kikilias told Open TV.
“We have no right to do anything less than what the situation demands,” he added. The vaccination program is far behind schedule with less than 4 percent of the population being inoculated so far.
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