A 103-year-old woman in Thessaloniki has braved the coronavirus and overcome her infection after 20 days in hospital, according o reports that surfaced on Wednesday.
The centenarian was dismissed from hospital on Holy Wednesday and transferred to a rehabilitation center for patients recovering from Covid-19, as a precaution.
The elderly woman had been admitted to the Agios Pavlos hospital in Thessaloniki on April 22 after experiencing mild symptoms and tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Pulmonologist Athanasios Gounidis, who was her physician at the hospital, told Mega TV that the woman suffered from no underlying health issues and had not been vaccinated against Covid-19.
Although she didn’t need to undergo intubation, she did need oxygen at some point in her treatment after experiencing difficulty in breathing. The patient is now in stable condition, with very little need for oxygen, allowing her to be referred to the rehabilitation center.
“She was aware of what was happening while in hospital and she was scared, but now she is happy to have been dismissed”, Dr. Gounidis added.
The pulmonologist said that his team at Agios Pavlos Hospital has received several patients over the age of 90, but the 103-year-old woman was the oldest they have treated for Covid-19.
New surge of cases while inoculation program accelerates
Sadly, however, the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in Greece are still rising as Easter approaches.
The country recorded 3,313 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday and 2,781 on Wednesday, both of which were considerably higher than the 1,317 cases recorded on Monday.
Of the 2,781 new coronavirus cases recorded in Greece in the past 24 hours, 1,263 were located in Attica, home to the Greek capital city of Athens. Instances of the virus were particularly high in the center of the city itself, where 393 cases of Covid-19 were identified on Wednesday.
Nonetheless, the domestic inoculation program is proceeding at a fast pace, allowing for reasonable optimism regarding the overall coronavirus situation in the country.
Greece readjusts coronavirus measures
Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias told SKAI radio on Thursday that any adult in Greece who wishes to get vaccinated will be able to do so by June 30.
114,873 citizens belonging to the 30-39 age group and 21,704 citizens aged between 40 and 44 have already booked their vaccination appointment, while 10,252 citizens between 30 and 39 have already received the first dose of the vaccine, Minister Kikilias added.
He estimated that Greece will be performing up to 100,000 vaccinations per day as of May 5. In the meantime, technical discussions are underway on arranging the vaccination at home for citizens who are less able to travel, using single-dose vaccines.
The country is implementing new measures for travel, restaurants and accommodations beginning this week.
Moving between municipalities in the same region will be allowed beginning on Thursday.
And beginning on May 3, restaurants and cafes will be open, albeit for outdoor seating only, with socially-distanced tables and no music.
The restrictions state that each table can accommodate a maximum of six people, and customers must sit, not stand.
While waiting to be seated, customers must wear masks, which they are also strongly recommended to wear while not eating or drinking — although this is not mandatory.
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