In short and sweet news from Greece, Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis is still out there drumming the self-aggrandizing message that the country is leading something. In the face of criticisms, the New Democracy government is miserably failing the Greek people, Theoharis and others are on a marketing campaign that is misleading, at best.
In an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) on Sunday, Theoharis continued the flawed message that Athens officials are bent on the safe opening of the Greek tourism industry stressing that “Greece will host tourists safely.” The reality is, while incoming tourists may be safe on account of their vaccine certifications, the people of many Greece destinations are anything but safe for residents.
Theoharis is running about saying how proud the administration is of health protocols, and milking the Digital Green Vaccination Certificate for all it is worth when not even 8% of the country’s residence have reviewed both doses of coronavirus vaccine. Some hotels here on Crete are already open, and the island is still in lockdown. The situation is a mess, just to be frank.
According to Reuters, Greece is averaging over 2,600 new infections each day, which is 98% of the peak infection rate since the pandemic began. On the vaccination front, Greece averaged about 24,188 doses administered each day for the past week. At that rate, it will take a further 89 days to administer enough doses for another 10% of the population.
Today is April 1st. That means that by July 1, less than 20% of Greeks will be vaccinated at the current rate. So, tourists will potentially be milling around in cities where most of the people are still wearing masks and unable to move about unencumbered. Theoharis is talking about making travelers part of the Greek “family”, but the core family is still largely ignored and still in danger.
End of news.