Sharjah24 – AFP: Greece's health minister said on Thursday the army would help boost Covid-19 testing after extending entertainment restrictions to contain the Omicron variant.

In a radio interview, Health Minister Thanos Plevris said 50 additional free testing locations would be set up near army camps, after days of long queues at pharmacies.

The ministry a day earlier had also announced that music and seating restrictions at bars and restaurants would be extended to January 23.

The government on Thursday also said that a 100-euro ($114) monthly fine on persons aged over 60 who refuse to take the vaccine would take effect from Sunday.

"We must be at the highest possible level of alert and there can be no let-up for the time being," government spokesman Giannis Economou told reporters Thursday.

Plevris told Proto Programma radio that the Covid-19 Delta variant was now limited to below 20 percent.

Greece has recorded over 1.6 million coronavirus cases and over 21,000 related deaths since the start of the pandemic.