The mayor of the island, Costas Koukas, characterized the measures announced by the government for the reduction of the pandemic in Mykonos as unjust, informing the Board of the Central Union of Greek Municipalities (KEDE) at today's meeting. Mr. Koukas spoke about surprise and measures that affect not only the economy of Mykonos but the national economy itself.
According to the first information, the great Greek singer died of a heart attack a few days before his birthday.
The performer of great hits was hospitalized at the 251 General Aviation Hospital, according to information from zinapost.gr.
One of the most important artists in the history of Greek song
Tolis Voskopoulos was one of the most important singers in the history of Greek song, and by far the most commercial. When he first started singing because of his style, his staging, and the way he performed and dressed, his fans called him Prince. An artist who has fanatical supporters, and as they typically say "you will either love Voskopoulos or you will not listen to him at all".
Tolis Voskopoulos was at the top of Greek popular song for decades, a fact that led the equally great artist and lyricist to many successes Giannis Parios to declare: "the only star that Greece has is Tolis".
In fact, as George Gerolymatos stated in the 1970s, young singers broke their teeth in order to look like Voskopoulos (due to the artist's characteristic teeth).
George Zambetas notes in his autobiography: "Tolis is a born theatrical artist. He goes up on the stage and swallows it all. Because the stage when you go up says to you: eat me otherwise I will eat you. Let's explain. Voskopoulos is a great worker, the greatest ".
As Voskopoulos himself had once stated in an interview with journalist Semina Digeni, "when I started singing, I took the actor Voskopoulos with me."
From time to time he has written the lyrics and music for songs that he has included on his personal albums or have been performed by other artists, most famously his duet with Marinella "Me and You" in 1974 which made a record sales and is sung to this day.
Among his admirers were and are people from all walks of life, from the popular world of working-class neighborhoods to the financial elite of shipowners, and of course the late Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou.
Today one can say that 50 years after his appearance on the art scene, Tolis Voskopoulos was a great chapter for Greek folk song.
The new wave of the pandemic and its mutations threatens the tourist season, which was preparing to give a "breath of life" to the Greek economy.
The sharp increase in infections in Mykonos has led to the imposition of a series of measures, which can be a "model" for other tourist destinations.
Crete, Santorini, Paros, Ios, and Corfu are some islands that are under increased surveillance by experts, but still not in a similar situation as Mykonos.
When the restrictions in Mykonos were announced, tourists left the island in waves for other destinations abroad or for the nearby Aegean islands.
Faced with the blow to the local economy, Mykonos businessmen have taken a series of countermeasures in an effort to save what they can from this tourist season, especially after the lifting of restrictive measures on July 26th.
The Association of Entertainment & Catering Businesses of Mykonos - SEDEM, is calling for the review of "the hasty and catastrophic decision for the tourism of the country as a whole and not just for Mykonos" emphasizing that "the damage is growing every hour and very soon it will be irreversible" .
In fact, they propose that the government take measures, such as a mandatory mask everywhere and controls, while they intend to subsidize their employees with 150 euros for them to be vaccinated with the single-dose vaccine.
As a leading tourist factor commented to Ot.gr, Greek tourism faces the problem that anyone who is in quicksand faces.
As soon as he tries to move, he sinks more. So our industry, as soon as we are encouraged by one thing, something else comes and creates more problems for us.
The epidemiological situation, in which the country found itself yesterday, allows no complacency, when in fact there are many scientists who openly ring the alarm for a repeat of the "Mykonos model" throughout the "orange" zone, ie in Paros , Ios, Santorini, and Crete.
At the same time, the president of Union of Athens Hospital Doctors (EINAP) Matina Pagoni stressed that Mykonos will be followed by other islands.
As she explained, several islands are now in the "orange" and "the fine must fall one after the other and the shops that do not comply with the measures must be closed".
It is reminded that an extraordinary meeting of the competent authorities is expected to take place today, Monday, and the following additional measures are being considered:
To be able to commandeer rooms, not only to just increase the number of quarantine hotels on the islands, but to be able to have Civil Protection commandeer rooms.
Meanwhile, the representatives of the tourism industry are sounding the alarm that if the measures are not followed up to the iota, the season is in danger of being lost.
Typically, the president of the Panhellenic Hoteliers Federation, Grigoris Tassios, speaking to AMNA, stated that "the example of Mykonos clearly shows that we are in the second season of Covid. Where the measures are not observed, the local economy is in danger with all that entails." He added that "there is concern, as I said two months ago, the epidemiological data will judge how the season turns out."
At the moment the country is at better levels than 2020, Mr. Tassios emphasized, however he noted that Mykonos was the first bell, if the measures are not followed meticulously and the vaccination does not proceed, we may not have a season after August.
Focusing on the cancellations on Mykonos, the president of Federation speaks about reasonable cancellations coming from Greeks and foreigners, as he explained.
A 17-year-old student accused of possessing and distributing child pornography online was arrested at his home in Mykonos island by officers of the Hellenic Police's Cyber Crime Division, police sources told Athens-Macedonian News Agency on Thursday.
One of the exhibits that has really attracted the interest of several officials and members of the domestic and international defense industry in DEFEA 2021, is the Greek armored tactical vehicle called "OPLITIS" (HOPLITE) manufactured by EODH and has special technical and operational characteristics.
Aiming at the tourism promotion of the Metropolitan and wider area of Athens and its emergence as an international competitive destination, the Hellenic Tourism Organization (EOT) and the Municipality of Athens through its Development and Tourism Promotion Company (EATA) signed a three-year memorandum of cooperation.
On Tuesday, July 13, 2021, the Chief of General Staff, General Konstantinos Floros, attended the opening ceremony of the International Exhibition of Defense and Security DEFEA 2021, held at the Athens Metropolitan Expo in Spata, which is under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defense.
Upon his arrival at the exhibition space, the Head of GEETHA visited the stands:
In addition, prior to the opening ceremony, he held brief talks with the US Ambassador to Athens, Geoffrey Pyatt, the counterparts of the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, General Fayyw bin Hamed Al Hamid General Aleš Opata, Republic of Rwanda Major General Jean Bosco Kazura and Major General Joe Jarrard Deputy Commanding General (DCG) for Army National Guard of USAREUR-AF.
At the end of the ceremony and in the context of a tour of the official guests at the Exhibition, the Head of GEETHA had the opportunity to visit the stands of Domestic and International Defense Material Companies where he was informed about the possibilities of their exhibits.
The "day after" for Greek hotels, through the utilization of the available financial tools of the National Recovery Plan "Greece 2.0", was discussed today at the conference on "The next day of the Greek Hotel, utilizing the financial means" co-organized by the Ministry Of Tourism and the Hotel Chamber of Greece, at the Lighthouse of the Cultural Center Stavros Niarchos Foundation (KPISN), with simultaneous internet transmission.
During the meeting, the Minister of Tourism Mr. Haris Theocharis pointed out the opportunities provided by the resources of the Recovery Fund for Greek tourism, while emphasizing the need for progress in vaccination which is crucial for this summer. Specifically, the Minister of Tourism stated that "we have a debt - and it is the primary debt - to ourselves, to our relatives and more broadly in our homeland and to our foreign guests to be vaccinated. I am afraid that there are many more who have not realized that this summer for Greek Tourism depends on the fastest possible progress of vaccinations. The negligible positivity at our gateways clearly shows that the increase in COVID-19 cases in Greece is not related to tourism. That is why we have an even greater obligation to contribute with all our might to accelerating the vaccination program. "
Mr. Theocharis added that "the protection of health with the contribution of all of us is the necessary bedrock, on which the future of the hotel and tourism industry in Greece can be solidly built. The opportunity given to us by the European Fund for Recovery from the effects of the pandemic is unique: We have at our disposal 260 million euros to start the substantial and long-term transformation of Greek Tourism ". He concluded by saying that "tourism is intertwined with the bright side of life, with the enjoyment of travel and the warm human contact provided by hospitality. So let's focus on all that makes us optimistic about a better future. But on the condition that we do the best we can at the moment."
The President of the Hotel Chamber of Greece Mr. Alexandros Vasilikos stressed that "the day took place in the 'heart' of an unpredictable tourist season", which he characterized as "quicksand", emphasizing that "the last two weeks of June, the fullness of hotels that managed to open amounted to 34.5% and with a reduction in the total hotel potential the occupancy was at 28.9% ".
"The Hotel Chamber, through ITEP, will continue to record the data of the season and at the end will submit comprehensive proposals to meet the support needs of hotels that will be recorded reliably", said Mr. Vasilikos and added that "today we discussed the 'next day' of the Greek hotel in the database of extremely important data from the relevant investigations of FORTH on behalf of the Chamber. The conference confirms the leading role which Greek hotels can play in the recovery of the country . However, to get there, as the restart does not automatically and horizontally lead to the desired operational result, we will need a proper planning, new and targeted interventions to support hotels, which will allow us together to reach safety, without leaving anyone behind, as the Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis has pointed out. In addition, the National Recovery Plan 'Greece 2.0' is a historic opportunity and the Greek hotel, with its timeless contribution to the economy and society, must and can be proven to be a guide to a green and smart Greece, synonymous with quality and authenticity ".
At the meeting four primary studies were presented by the Director General of the Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasting (ITEP) Professor George Petrakos. These reflect the situation and the intention of Greek hotels to invest in the areas of sustainability and employment lifelong learning, digital switchover and accessibility.
The findings of these surveys fueled an equal number of thematic panels, which discussed how the hotel industry will use the historic opportunity of the National Recovery Plan "Greece 2.0" to create new added value for both Greek tourism and the national economy, employment. , SMEs, regional development and sustainable local prosperity
Ios was at the center of international television production a few days ago with the support of the municipality of Ios, as emphasized in a relevant announcement.
The TV crew of the program "My Greek Odyssey" visited the Cycladic island of Homer, in order to make long shootings for the new cycle of the series.
The popular travel show "My Greek Odyssey" from Australia with the presenter Peter Maneas is shown internationally on television networks, but also in 45 English-speaking countries such as USA, England, Australia, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Canada, Russia, Spain, Greece and elsewhere.
At the same time, other productions abroad, according to the municipality, have expressed their interest in shooting on the island in order to convey to the TV audience the summer aura, the quality and safety of the destination, comments the Chairman of the Tourism Committee of the island, Antonis Mettos.
Professor of Pulmonology and Intensive Care, Theodoros Vasilakopoulos, made the nightmarish estimate that if the vaccinations do not proceed, 4 million people will need to get sick in order to achieve immunity of the herd.
As he noted, if the population is not vaccinated, in order to reach immunity of the herd, out of the 5 million Greeks who have been left unvaccinated, 3.5-4 million people will be infected.
"But this will have a cost in the loss of human life and the NSS will not be able to bear it. "99% of coronavirus deaths could be prevented by vaccination."
Mr. Vasilakopoulos, warned, speaking to Sky, that we will have an outbreak of cases in the near future, emphasizing that there is no safe way to restart without vaccination.
"The theory that we can open with strict protocols does not exist. With current vaccination rates, the number of daily cases will be very high. Given that the Delta strain that will prevail is 60% more contagious, we must be 60% more vaccinated and 60% more careful", said Mr. Vasilakopoulos, reminding that in 15 days out of 500 cases we reached 3,500.
Responding to those who refuse to get the vaccine because they are afraid of the long-term consequences on the grounds that it has not been tested for a long time, he noted that with the vaccine it is exposed to the spike protein. That is, if he gets sick, he is not afraid of the consequences of exposure to the proteins of the virus and with the vaccine that the exposure is lower than he is in a natural infection, is he afraid?", He noted.
For the Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the professor said that one is a thousand times more likely to develop it if the virus is transmitted.
Asked if the vaccinated person could transmit the virus, he explained that the chances were much lower. "I have little chance of having the virus inside me. And when I have it, I have it in such a concentration that it is much smaller than I would have it if I were unvaccinated. So the chance of transmitting it is much lower. I can not say that there is no chance, but it is so small that it is not a problem."
Regarding the possibility of serious illness, Mr. Vasilakopoulos pointed out that it is minimal and mainly concerns people who despite the vaccine did not have a good immune response, because they were taking drugs that prevented the immune system from reacting well, such as transplant recipients, people with rheumatism and cancer patients who are immunosuppressed.
Regarding the vaccination of children, he said that children in the US are being vaccinated en masse, pointing out that parents should stop seeing the vaccine as taboo. "Children are very unlikely to get seriously ill and lose their lives. However, we have lost three children under the age of 18 in Greece so far and many more have been admitted to the ICU. Imagine a child alone for 10 days in a Unit, without his parents", he added.
Finally, regarding the possibility of a new lockdown, he stressed that the country can not close because some do not want to be vaccinated. "If the situation worsens, the solution is to drastically limit the activities of the unvaccinated. In summer they can make use of mixed outdoor spaces. In winter when the temperature drops, what will happen? Will they allow them in a restaurant? He will stay at home," he concluded.
The American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce (AmChamGR) is proudly organizing with the support of the Embassy of the United States of America, the USA Pavilion at Defea 2021 (www.usadefea.gr) to be held July 13-15, 2021 at the Metropolitan Expo Center in Athens, Greece.
The Aeschylia festival at Elefsina will open on August 22 this year, following the annual festival's cancellation in 2020, with highlights including a sculpture show by Andreas Lolis and a dance performance by Omma and dancer/choreographer Josef Nadj.
Teenagers aged from 15 to 17 will be able to book vaccination appointments as of Thursday, said Health Secretary General Marios Themistocleous during Monday’s regular live briefing on the coronavirus pandemic.
In a doorstep statement as he arrived for Monday's Eurogroup meeting, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras expressed his satisfaction that the national Recovery and Resilience Plan 'Greece 2.0' was among the 12 national plans to be approved by the Council.