Pandemic: Greece Records 2,801 New Cases, 781 Intubations

Greece announced another 2,801 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, while 781 patients remained intubated due to the pandemic.

These numbers have put unprecedented pressure on the Greek National Health Service, with hospitals in Athens being on full capacity for weeks now, without any signs of recession.

The National Organization of Public Health (EODY) said in its daily bulletin that the overall number of infections now stands at 293,763 since the beginning of the pandemic.

The EODY also said that 75 people had died with the coronavirus over the last day, which brought the number of overall fatalities to 8,833 in Greece.

This number is lower by three individuals compared to yesterday, Friday, when 78 people in Greece tragically lost their lives due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The median age of those in need of ventilators in Greece is 68 years and 82.8 percent of them suffer from an underlying condition and/or are aged 70 or over.

On a positive note, a total of 1,853 patients have been discharged from ICUs since the pandemic began.

New pandemic measures announced; Athens shops flooded with people

Greek Minister for Civil Protection Nikos Chardalias announced on Friday that retail stores will open in Thessaloniki and Achaia on Monday.

The decision comes after shop owners in the regions protested when stores opened across the country on April 5, except in Thessaloniki, Kozani, and Achaea.

Last week, it was the Athenian shops’ time to reopen. This led thousands of Athenians to rush to the city’s high streets, with Ermou being flooded by people who wanted to shop something after months of quarantine.

Starting Monday, customers — with appointments — will be permitted to do their shopping under extremely strict anti-virus measures in Thessaloniki and Achaea, like in the rest of the country, Chardalias stated.

Stores will remain closed in Kozani, however.

Rather than sending a text message to the government’s toll-free number 13033, used for all other movements under lockdown, Greeks will have to send a message to the number 13032 to go shopping.

Greeks can either shop with “click-away,” or curbside pickup, or with “click in shop,” which involves making purchases inside of the store. Both require a prior appointment.

Greeks can send only one message to make non-essential purchases each day, and they can only shop within a three-hour window.

In order to maintain social distancing, stores will be allowed to host one customer per 25 square meters (269 square feet), and a maximum of 20 shoppers in total.