Greece on Monday imposed a vaccination mandate for people over the age of 60, as coverage remains below the EU average and a recent rise in infections has sustained pressure on hospitals, the Associated Press reports.

Older people who fail to get vaccinated will face penalties, starting at a €50 ($57) fine in January and followed by a monthly fine of €100 ($114) after that.

About two-thirds of Greece’s 10.7 million population is fully vaccinated – the EU average is just over 70%. The rate of death and daily hospitalisations has increased following the recent spread of the Omicron variant, though pressure on ICU capacity has eased slightly.

The health minister, Thanos Plevris, said fines would be collected through the tax office with the money to be used to help fund state hospitals.

“The age factor is important because of its impact on the public health service,” Plevris told private Open TV on Sunday.

A vaccination mandate was imposed for health care workers last year. And starting on 1 February, vaccination certificates for adults will expire after seven months unless the holder receives a booster shot.

New infections sharply surged in early January, and have eased over the past week.

The mandate for over-60s was announced in late December and, according to government data, 41.5% of the 530,000 people targeted by the measure are now fully vaccinated.

Greece has the seventh oldest population in the world, as measured by share of residents aged 65 and over, according to the US-based Population Reference Bureau.

(Source: The Guardian)