Filenews 22 February 2022 - by Marilena Panagi
All dining areas, including nightclubs, will be able to allow dancing in their premises, provided that all those entering will be required to present a negative test of the same day, regardless of their vaccination history. At the same time, during yesterday's meeting of the Minister of Health with the members of the Advisory Scientific Committee, it was decided that these spaces can accommodate up to 500 people, with a maximum coverage limit of 75% of their capacity.
The specific decisions, which are a continuation of the discussion that had begun last week in the Council of Ministers and concerned the protocols for the operation of recreational areas, will be implemented on a date to be announced by the Ministry of Health, probably today.
Regarding the requirement for all patrons of nightclubs and restaurants that allow dancing to show a negative test of the same day, it was considered necessary, in view of the carnival period during which increased mobility and a large number of gatherings are expected.
It is reported that some of the scientists, argued that people who have received all 3 doses of the vaccine should be exempted from the obligation of negative testing. However, the majority of the members of the TEU suggested that in the case of high-risk areas and especially during this period, it would be more appropriate to have a check on all citizens, regardless of their vaccination history.
It must be assumed that these requirements will be differentiated subsequently. Specifically, as we are informed, the decisions taken yesterday will be implemented as a transitional stage, until next Wednesday, when the members of the Advisory Scientific Committee will discuss and finalize the plan for the adjustment of SafePass both for the conditions of entry to specific places and activities, as well as the abolition of the requirement to show an entry certificate, in low-risk areas for transmission of the virus, such as supermarkets, bakeries, pharmacies and kiosks;
The world is lifting measures against the pandemic
Countries, one after the other, are lifting the restrictive measures. Most of the world is heading for a return to normalcy when it comes to the pandemic. The "fever" for the new tourist season has already begun and preparations for a summer without Covid-19, as everyone hopes, have begun for good.
Israel will start from March 1 to allow entry to all tourists, regardless of whether they are vaccinated for the coronavirus. Entering the country will still require two PCR tests, one before departure and one on arrival.
Yesterday, after all, Australia welcomed the first tourists, having kept its borders sealed for nearly two years, as it turned to the strategy of living with the virus, based on high vaccination rates. Australia's openness to tourists is the clearest example so far of the government's shift from a strict zero-tolerance approach to Covid to symbiosis with the virus and vaccination of citizens in order to reduce deaths and serious illness. Fully vaccinated tourists will not have to be quarantined.
The abolition of the coronavirus measures as part of the "coexistence with Covid-19" strategy, as he described it, was announced yesterday by the British Prime Minister. Britain will become the first major European country to allow people who know they have contracted the disease to have free access to shops, public transport, and to return to work. Boris Johnson has said he does not want people to stop being cautious and added that there is no chance of complacency, but that the availability of vaccines means that the government wants to move from taking public mandatory measures to encouraging personal responsibility.
