ATHENS – Greece will not experience a lockdown-type restriction of movement and activities again and the government does not intend to impose restrictive measures in the autumn and in winter, Health Minister Thanos Plevris said to SKAI TV on Tuesday.

“We believe that it will not be necessary to impose measures and, in the case it is necessary, any measures will be of the mildest possible level,” the minister said.

On the use of protective face masks, he said that extending the use of face masks in specific areas if needed may be examined. The target, he added, was for the mandatory use of face masks to be restricted while at the same time recommending the use of a face mask in certain areas.

Plevris said there will be a shift to a new culture, where the government will state what the protection measures are, recommend their use, as well as stating which groups are most at risk and where.

He also said that the decisions for the protection measures in schools will be reached within the next few days.

The minister underlined that there was an intense pandemic wave in the summer but this did not result in severe ilnesses, noting that the cases needing treatment in an ICU were just 130, a number that was totally manageable.

On the updated vaccines, he said that these will unfold in two phases, with the first providing protection from the Omicron variant and its sub-variants O-4 and O-5 which, as he estimated will be ready until the end of 2022.