A total of 543 cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in Greece, nearly half of which, 265, were recorded in Attica, home to the capital city of Athens, on Monday.
Monday’s total cases are 49 more than the 494 cases that were recorded in the country one day earlier, on Sunday.
The surge in cases in Attica is the cause of great concern for health officials in the country.
Cases are particularly high in Athens, Greece’s most populous city. A total of 64 cases were recorded in the center of the city on Monday.
In Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city, a total of 39 cases were identified in the last 24 hours.
Tragically, 33 people with the virus passed away in the country over the past 24-hour period, which is 16 more than those recorded yesterday.
Currently, 248 patients with Covid-19 are now intubated in Greece, seven fewer than those who were intubated in the country on Sunday.
Fears of a third wave; South African Covid variant in Thessaloniki
The recent surge of cases in Attica, along with growing transmission of the UK variant in the country and the discovery of the South African variant in Greece, cause health officials to fear the coming of a third wave.
An extraordinary meeting was convened by the Minister of Health Vassilis Kikilias on Monday to coordinate efforts to improve readiness both in terms of epidemiological surveillance and the health system.
Since January 25, there has been a significant uptick in not only the number of cases of the coronavirus in Attica, but also hospitalizations of Covid patients.
On January 25, 455 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in Attica’s hospitals. This Monday, the number has spiked to 547.
Additionally, the fast-spreading UK variant has begun to spread in Greece. As of Sunday, a total of 173 samples of the coronavirus mutation were recorded in the country since the first case of the variant was diagnosed there in early January.
Perhaps even more concerning, the first case of the South African variant of Covid-19 was diagnosed in the country’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki, on Sunday.
Officials hope to severely limit the spread of the variant particularly, as it seems that the mutation is resistant to the life-saving vaccines developed for the coronavirus.
Total 1,121 Covid-19 patients discharged from Greek ICUs
In total, 157,495 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the country since the beginning of the pandemic, including all those who have recovered from the virus.
Of this total, 5,968 are associated with foreign travel, and 49,417 are associated with contact with a known case.
Of the 248 patients intubated currently, 86.7% are over the age of 70 or suffer from preexisting conditions. Their median age is 68, and 182 of the patients are male.
Additionally, a total of 1,121 patients have been discharged from ICUs around the country since the beginning of the pandemic.
The 33 new deaths recorded on Monday bring the total number of fatalities in the country to 5,829. Of all those who lost their lives after suffering from the virus, a total of 3,427 have been male.
The median age of those who passed away with Covid-19 is 79, and 95.5% of them were over the age of 70 or suffered from underlying health issues.
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