Greece is ordering mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations of all health workers, including those working in retirement homes, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday.
All people working in retirement homes must be vaccinated by August 16, or they will be put on sick leave, he said in an address to the nation.
Vaccination for health workers in both public and private sectors will become mandatory from September 1.
Faced with the spread of the Delta variant, the government wants to get as many people as possible vaccinated.
From Tuesday, jabs with the Pfizer vaccine will be open to 15-17 year olds.
Three out of four Greeks over the age of 60 have been vaccinated, the prime minister said.
But in a population of 10.7 million people, only 4.3 million have been fully vaccinated.
"The country is not going to close down because of the attitude of some people," Mitsotakis said.
From Friday until the end of August, only vaccinated people will be able to enter closed venues such as entertainment centres, bars, cinemas and theatres.
"We can close the last chapter of the health crisis today, if only everyone has the vaccine of freedom in their arms," he said.
Greece on Monday recorded about 2,000 new cases of the coronavirus, up from 800 just a week ago. More than 12,000 people have died of the coronavirus in the country.
