Record 2,646 Covid Cases Diagnosed as Greece Mulls Nation-Wide Lockdown

A record-breaking 2,646 cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the country on Wednesday, and 18 deaths were recorded in those who had suffered with the virus.
This is the highest number of coronavirus cases recorded in a one-day period in Greece, and it has caused alarm among health officials. The previous record was broken just  on Tuesday, when 2,166 cases were diagnosed in the country.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to speak about the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic at 12:00 noon on Thursday.
At the Maximos Mansion event, he will also respond to questions posed by the press.
Infectious diseases professor Sotiris Tsiodras, on the Greek Health Ministry’s committee of experts on the novel coronavirus, will also participate.
Mitsotakis is expected to announce a country-wide lockdown starting on Friday morning after the country recorded record virus numbers on Wednesday.
The decision to go into lockdown, one which Mitsotakis had hoped to avoid according to his previous public statements, came after the Prime Minister consulted with the country’s top infectious disease experts.
In the virtual meeting, experts expressed concern over the spread of the virus in Greece and the stress it has placed on the country’s healthcare system, and proposed a nation-wide lockdown in order to slow the virus’ transmission.
Of the total new cases announced on Wednesday, 42 were identified during testing at Greece’s points of entry.
Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 46,892 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in Greece, including all those who have recovered from the virus. Of this total, 4,271 are associated with foreign travel and 14,427 with contact with a known case.
Currently, there are 179 intubated patients in intensive care units around Greece, causing worry about hospital capacity in Greece. The median age of these patients is 67, and 42 are women.
Of the intubated patients, 88.8% are over the age of 70 or suffer from preexisting conditions. A total of 305 patients have been discharged from ICUs in the country.
The 18 new deaths recorded on Wednesday bring the number of total fatalities in Greece to 673. Of those who lost their lives after suffering with the virus, 259 have been women.