Covid-19: The Whole of Greece Turns Red

The Covid-19 pandemic in Greece is worsening as data from European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) released on Thursday shows.

The whole country is now colored in red, meaning that the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate ranges from 75 to 200 and the test positivity rate of tests for COVID-19 infection is four percent.

The news is more disheartening for the regions of Crete, the Ionian islands, the Cyclades and the Dodecanese which are marked in deep red, meaning that the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate is 500 or more. This suggests that all but essential travel to and from these regions is discouraged.

Cyprus is also colored in deep red.

The ECDC, the European Centers for Disease Control, updates the Covid-19 status of each country weekly.

286 Covid-19 patients on ventilators in Greece

Also on Thursday, Greece confirmed 3,273 new Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours, with 12 of these identified at entry points to the country.

According to the National Public Health Organization (EODY), since the pandemic began, Greece has confirmed 550,459 infections, including all those who have recovered from the virus. In the confirmed cases of the last seven days, 128 infections are related to travel from abroad and 1,409 to other confirmed cases.

There have also been 20 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the total of pandemic victims to 13,298. Of these, 95.2 percent had an underlying condition and/or were aged 70 or over.

A total of 286 patients are on ventilators in hospitals. Their median age is 65 years and 83.9 percent have an underlying condition and/or are aged 70 or over. Another 2,896 have been discharged from ICUs since the pandemic began.

In addition, 276 Covid-19 patients were admitted to hospital in the last 24 hours. The average admission of patients with Covid-19 to hospitals over the last 7 days was 251.

The median age of new infections is 40 years, while the median age of the deceased is 78.

Nightmare prediction for the Autumn

Speaking on Thursday Demosthenis Sarigiannis, professor of Health and Environmental Engineering, warned that the health system in Greece will be under pressure in October.

He estimated that during this period the number of hospital admissions is expected to reach 3,600 to 3,700, while the corresponding number of intubated in ICU will amount to 680.

Regarding the situation in Crete where special restrictive measures are in force in Heraklion, Chania and Rethymno, due to the high epidemiological burden based on the positivity index, the cases and the hospitalizations, the professor said that the situation is difficult as the island raises high concerns.

He attributed the epidemiological burden of Crete to the Delta mutation, which spread to the island much faster than other any other area, to the relaxation of protective measures and to the low vaccination rates, combined with the increased tourist flows.

“We eased the very strict measures, but we had to be more prudent. It takes a little common sense to understand that when you are on the cobbled street on an island with a lot of people you have to wear your mask”, he said speaking to Greece’s public radio.