ATHENS – As anti-vaxxers continue to spread COVID-19 and shots haven't been made mandatory, it has brought worry that Greece will face a fifth wave of the Coronavirus this autumn, driven by the Delta Variant that makes up all new cases.

The particularly infectious mutation from India comes as Greece has nevertheless said Indian travelers are welcome without restrictions and as the New Democracy government's persuasion campaign urging people to be vaccinated has largely failed.

Speaking on Antenna TV, Nikos Thomaidis, Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Athens University, predicted that the fourth wave will peak in October at 3,500 cases per day.

But he said that could be followed by another surge by the end of that month as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been reluctant to make the call for inoculations to be required, except for health workers.

“Infections will rise among those who are not vaccinated. We may be in for a fifth wave at the end of October,” said Thomaidis. There's been no report what the government's advisory panel of doctors and scientists has predicted.

Besides anti-vaxxers, people defying health measures that require wearing masks and staying safe social distances are adding to the spread of the virus with trepidation it could be especially dangerous for the young now.