We’ll start with Covid. Yesterday, Tuesday July 27th, saw a significant rise in cases – just a whisker short of 3,600 cases yesterday, of which 15 (0.4%) were detected at border entry points. A few weeks back, the government was panicking as intubations rose to nearly 800, but on Monday there were only 142 in intensive care. Eight people died.
Yesterday morning, the doubly-vaccinated, Minister for Development, Adonis Georgiadis, tested negative only to be diagnosed positive in the evening. He is just under 50 and his symptoms are mild. Age is a significant factor in the current increase in cases. Most of those infected are either kids in summer camps or unvaccinated adults with an average age of 41.
The government has ruled that all workers in the private and national health and care sectors have to be vaccinated. Failure to comply will result – as in France – in leave without pay.
In the catering and hotel sectors, staff have to get themselves tested regularly. Here is a summary from www.discovergreece.com
“Outdoor entertainment venues (including restaurants, cafes & bars) are operating as normal, with a maximum of 10 people per table. However indoor restaurants & cafes, as well as nightclubs, music venues, theatres and indoor cinemas will require visitors to show proof of vaccination (14 days since full vaccination) or proof of having recovered from Covid-19 (within the last six months and minimum 30 days since the first positive result) and are seated only. Children are required to have carried out a Covid-19 self-test to enter.”
As for education, although the government has decided at this stage that teachers do not have to be fully vaccinated, the cost of regular testing could prove prohibitive given the shit salaries most teachers earn, thereby forcing teachers to opt for the free vaccine. My own feeling is given that rapid tests (Georgiadis above) are so unreliable, proof of vaccination will be mandatory by autumn in every sector of life.
Months ago I referred to Greece’s belated #MeToo movement, after a young athlete, Sofia Bekatorou, opened up a Pandora’s Box of sex crimes committed against young people. To date the biggest scalp is an actor called Petros Filippidis. Until the accusations were levelled at him, he was ubiquitous on TV and stage: on new shows, repeats, adverts and in theatrical productions. Yesterday, he was taken to a prison in Tripoli where he will be detained pending trial for one case of rape and two cases of attempted rape. Here is an article describing his fall from grace: https://www.iefimerida.gr/politismos/apotheosi-profylakisi-exi-mines-petros-filippidis
Not much is happening in Irish music at the moment as we are either injured, working or on holiday. Our singer was mugged by some coward who dragged her along the ground in an attempt to wrest her handbag from her shoulder. Personally, I have been on holiday but more about that next time. I have found a Greek website where I can advertise for instrumentalists. I have written the ad in Greek and English, so it will be interesting to see how that pans out. Will it yield results or turn out to be as barren as my attempts to contact two local musicians on www.thesession.org ? My hope is to get a session going by late September or October. In the meantime, here’s a treat. Caitlyn Warbelow is a great fiddler and well worth looking into. Unfortunately, a lot of the YouTube clips featuring Caitlyn are spoiled by some twat given a two-minute intro or telling a story nobody is interested in. Even in this clip, the guitarist manages to waste a good 45 seconds by unnecessarily farting around. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MzqD2R_jUA