ATHENS – Greece may well adopt the European Commission’s recommendation and extend the validity of Covid-19 vaccination certificates to nine months and that of Covid-19 recovery certificates to six months, Health Minister Thanos Plevris said on Friday, speaking on SKAI television.

These are the periods recommended by the European Commission, which has suggested that all EU member-states adopt a uniform duration for certificates in the EU.

“Our country, because it wanted to increase vaccination, had shortened these times. In other words, the certificate of recovery is for three months and for vaccination we said that after seven months one is considered unvaccinated,” Plevris said. In light of the Commission’s guidelines, he added, the Greek experts’ committee has been asked to harmonise the validity of Greek certificates with that recommended by the EU.

“The Committee will express its opinion but obviously there will be a unification and the nine months and six months will apply in our country as well,” he added.

On the easing of restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid-19, he said the government has presented a comprehensive plan to the experts’ committee that will include access to spaces without a certificate during the summer, while the aim was to “come closer to normality” as summer draws near.

“I do not want to refer to dates, we are waiting for the Committee’s recommendations,” he said, adding that this plan will most likely unfold in May.

The minister said that Easter was “not being sacrificed”, however, pointing out that “90 pct of the measures that applied during the winter have been lifted” and that there were “essentially no restrictions” for those that are vaccinated.

On whether there will be a fourth booster vaccination, Plevris said that there must be a joint decision by the EU, predicting that decisions on an EU level will be made very soon.