ATHENS – Government spokesperson Yiannis Oikonomou, in an interview with MEGA TV on Tuesday, referred to the government’s “balanced strategy against the pandemic” and said the goal was for the market to remain open during Christmas holidays. He also spoke about the Church, Covid tests and the progress of vaccination against Covid.

“Our government was among the first in Europe to take the bravest, most unpleasant and radical measures. Let me remind you of the obligatory vaccination of citizens over 60. Let me remind you of the unpleasant decisions taken in the first period and a series of other initiatives, such as the ‘green’ certificate, in which Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had a key role,” Oikonomou said.

He said that people were aware of the importance of keeping the economy, education and society open “and are concerned when they see the coronavirus persisting and putting pressure on the health system.” The spokesperson added that the government has “taken several prudent decisions on many occasions” and follows “a balanced strategy, with the economy open while minimising the spread of the novel coronaviurs as much as we can, obviously with an increase in vaccination coverage and by supporting the National Health System.” Most recently, he pointed out, the prime minister took the brave decision for an obligatory extension of vaccination coverage to all those aged over 60.

Oikonomou also referred to the Omicron variant that is forcing all the governments in Europe to adapt their strategy to match the pandemic. “We had exhausted all the means of persuasion and faciliation at our disposal for increasing vaccination coverage. We saw that the specific group (60 and over) showed the least response. Since the day that obligatory vaccination was announced, tens of thousands of our fellow citizens over 60 – they have exceeded 65,000 – have rushed to book an appointment for a first dose and this is very positive,” he said.