ATHENS – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government will continue to provide support for as long as the international energy crisis lasts, during his visit to a poultry production unit at the region of Megara, Attica, on Saturday.

“As long as this upheaval lasts, there will be a not-at-all insignificant support from the state to help you with your costs,” he noted. “As you know, from the beginning of January there will be a state subsidy for energy costs for all production units, for all companies, which I believe will cover a significant part – up to 50 pct of energy price hikes,” he added.

Secretary General for Agricultural Policy & International Relations Konstantinos Baginetas, one of the officials accompanying the premier in his visit, referred to the new institutional framework for organic farming, animal mating and poultry farming. “Poultry and pig farming are among those farms which are very intensive, so a new institutional framework is being promoted for animal welfare, as well as organic and free-range farming,” he noted.

‘I urge the few remaining unvaccinated people over 60 to take that step and get inoculated’

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged “the few remaining unvaccinated people over the age of 60 to take that step and get inoculated,” during a visit to Megara health center, in Attica, on Saturday.

“A 90 pct, that is 9 in 10 people over 60 have been vaccinated,” he added, noting that fines for those who do not get inoculated will go ahead as announced (deadline for vaccination appointments expires on Sunday, January 16).

“I want to emphasize that from the moment we imposed this mandatory measure, almost half of those who had not been vaccinated made the right choice to be inoculated. So this measure was successful. We want to increase vaccination rates in the sensitive age group of those over 60,” he noted during a conversation with health employees.

Mitsotakis stressed that vaccination against the coronavirus remains an absolute priority, despite the fact that epidemiological data shows a prospect of de-escalation.

“All current intubations are primarily Delta mutation cases, and the vast majority of this problem still concerns our unvaccinated fellow citizens,” he added.

Earlier, Mitsotakis visited the Megara police station, where he was briefed on actions against crime in the area.