What a joy it was to write in my last post about something other than Covid but, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
Vaccination uptake is well below the hopes of the authorities, particularly in Northern Greece. In a small town called Drama, only about 40% of the adult population is vaccinated. Unfortunately, the stupidity does not end there.
An unvaccinated 66-year-old from Drama went for a PCR test which turned out to be positive. He subsequently died in the main hospital of Serres. Apparently, it is not uncommon for relatives in this region to dispute the results of autopsies where the cause of death is attributed to Covid. Anyway, the relatives of this deceased took matters a step further. They insisted on a second autopsy to be overseen by an independent pathologist. The corpse was driven to Thessaloniki where the state and the independent pathologists both concluded that the death was caused by … wait for it … surprise surprise … Covid. What do we call these people? In the UK the preferred term is ‘covidiots’. I’d prefer something stronger like ‘coronajerks’. The story is here: https://www.iefimerida.gr/ellada/66hronos-pethane-apo-koronoio-nekrotomi-serres
From the same area, a 45-year-old father of three died on Wednesday, 20th October. He was a Covid-denier and quite vocal on social media. If that wasn’t stupid enough, it seems that he and his wife signed a document saying they did not want to be intubated if they fell ill. What happens if the wife gets it? Would she really want to leave three orphans? The story is here: https://www.iefimerida.gr/ellada/serres-nekros-apo-koronoio-kathigitis-arnitis
My Covid expert tells me that religion may play a part. The 45-year-old was a teacher of Byzantine music. Moreover, the deeply religious here are not content with someone as lowly as Bill Gates implanting us with nanoprobes. It’s Satan himself. My informant also thinks (though not 100% sure) that the burial sites and the funeral rites of the Covid dead are different from a normal Greek Orthodox burial, which may explain the insane behaviour of the 66-year-old’s relatives.
Getting away from Covid, I used to fly at least four or five times a year, but it’s now been nearly two years since I’ve been on a plane. I’m flying to the UK tonight to sort out some business there. I am not too sure when I’ll be back. I have said before that Greece has managed this crisis much better than the UK and other northern European countries. Now I’ll have a chance to see what’s happening in the UK. I have always felt that the UK government should have used emergency powers to bring the independent health systems of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland under the control of a single British National Health System. What the UK currently has is four mega-fuckups instead of one mega fuckup. Sturgeon in Scotland used the crisis for political grandstanding. Wales wanted to be different. And with the disarray within the odious flat-earthers of the DUP, local government has all but ceased to function in the Six Counties.