Greece said it would end free testing for unvaccinated people to boost inoculation rates and head off any renewed spike in Delta variant infections of the coronavirus, writes Reuters.

The country has recorded 13,422 deaths since reporting its first COVID-19 outbreak in February 2020.

New measures which will come into effect on September 13 stop short of forcing people to take a jab, but end free testing and oblige unvaccinated persons to test either once or twice a week, depending on their profession.

The costs of the rapid test, set at 10 euros, is a sizeable chunk of money for people in the crisis-hit country where salaries average 1,161 euros a month.