Greek minister – Possibility of mandatory Covid-19 vax for employees in restaurant-cafe-bar sector

A top Greek government minister on Friday left open the possibility of expanding the obligatory nature of Covid-19 vaccinations to employees in the food & beverage sector, as well as in the entertainment field, such as theaters, cinemas and music scenes.

Minister of State Giorgos Gerapetritis made the statement during a television appearance on the Athens-based Skai network.

At the same time, he fielded questions on why the Mitsotakis government has not made Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for members of the armed forces and law enforcement personnel, similar to the regime to be imposed – as of Sept. 1 – for healthcare professionals and previously mandated for fire fighters who also serve in rapid deployment civil defense units.

In referring to the latter, as well as criticism over “double standards”, Gerapetritis merely referred to a “tailor-made approach … when and if mandatory vaccination is decided.” He also said replacing staff members in the armed forces and law enforcement is “not easy… as they must be on constant readiness”.