PM Mitsotakis: We have to ensure the national health system stays solid; coronavirus vaccines are safe

The safety measures and restrictions implemented during the current nationwide lockdown are not as severe as those implemented during the first wave of the coronavirus in Greece, observed Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at an interview with AlphaTV on Monday evening.

Citizens are currently "tired, naturally" with the virus' second wave of dispersal and the ongoing lockdown, he noted, and said he fully understands and sympathizes with how hard it must be for most people to have to stay at home, in isolation, restricted and removed from paused social activities due to standing measures.

The pressure exerted on the national health system is beginning to subside, as there is an observable reduction in new infections, as these measures are beginning to show a result. However, several months are required to reach a level of containment which can only be achieved by mass vaccinations, he underlined. By consequence, he said it does not look possible that night clubs and live venues will reopen before the start of mass inoculations, as the virus is being transmitted avidly at precisely those venues.
"We will salvage what we can from the Christmas trading season," he added.

As an overall observation on people keeping up with safety restrictions, he said these could have been followed more diligently by all citizens, closer to how they did during the first outbreak earlier in the year. Consequently, reopening social and trading activity this time around, during the current second lockdown, was a decision impaired, put back by persistent high numbers in new cases.

The most active infection clusters at the moment are to be found not in major urban centers, but outside of those, in villages and smaller towns, as policing there is slightly more lenient than in big cities, he said, urging people to make sure they spend Christmas 2020 at home with their families, and avoid moving about from one city to another, or between prefectures.

On the subject of Greece reopening its tourism sector earlier in the summer, the Greek Premier said there is no evidence that the second outbreak is in any way related to said reopening. Testament to that, is the fact that countries like Israel, that did not reopen borders to tourists, were also hard-hit by a second wave of dispersal.

What is of the utmost significance now "is to keep the country's national health system standing upright, solid, and give doctors and nursing staff a breather," he stressed.
An additional 7,000 doctors and nurses have been hired, while the number of intensive care beds was increased, he said.

Knowing that the coronavirus vaccines are upcoming is the "most powerful light at the end of the tunnel," and bearing this in mind, "the message is quite clear: they are safe."