Over 17,000 People Have Now Died With Covid-19 in Greece

Over 17,000 people have died with Covid-19 in Greece since the start of the pandemic, and 87 people with the virus passed away in the country just on Wednesday.

This is seven more than the 80 people who died with Covid-19 in Greece on Tuesday.

Greece recorded a total of 6,682 cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, while 8,129 were recorded in the country yesterday, Tuesday.

The record for the highest number of coronavirus cases recorded in one day in Greece was broken just last Tuesday, when 8,623 cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed.

In the past day, a total of 326,949 coronavirus tests have been administered, including both PCR and rapid tests, bringing the positivity rate in Greece to 2.04%. This figure is up from yesterday’s positivity rate, which was 1.22%.

The average age of those who have tested positive for the virus in Greece is 38, and the average age of those who have died with the virus is 78.

A total of just six of Wednesday’s cases were identified during routine Covid-19 testing of tourists at the country’s borders.

Currently, there are 561 patients with the coronavirus on ventilators in Greece, which is 14 more than the 547 patients undergoing the invasive treatment in the country on Tuesday.

1,632 coronavirus cases in Attica, 1,345 in Thessaloniki

Of the 6,682 new coronavirus cases recorded in Greece in the past 24 hours, 1,632 were located in Attica, home to the Greek capital city of Athens.

A total of 495 cases of Covid-19 were identified in Athens on Wednesday.

In Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, 1,148 cases of the virus were identified today.

Pfizer seeks US approval for Covid-19 pill

Pfizer announced on Tuesday that it has filed for U.S. authorization of the company’s new antiviral Covid-19 pill.

The pill, called Paxlovid, has yielded impressive results in clinical trials, reducing hospitalization or death by 89%. If approved, the drug could prove to be a gamechanger for those most vulnerable to severe illness, as well as helping countries with a less vaccinated population.

Pfizer has now officially completed its application for emergency use authorization from the FDA, but it has not yet been announced when the agency will make a decision about the drug. Merck & Co and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics submitted their own antiviral pill, called Molnupiravir, for authorization earlier last month. Their drug will be reviewed by a panel of advisers on November 30, similar to the process conducted for the Covid vaccines.

“We are moving as quickly as possible in our effort to get this potential treatment into the hands of patients, and we look forward to working with the U.S. FDA on its review of our application, along with other regulatory agencies around the world,” said Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla in a press release on Paxlovid.

The company also announced on Tuesday that its officials had inked a licensing agreement which will enable less wealthy nations to distribute its antiviral drug Paxlovid in the form of generic anti-Covid pills.

Over 800,000 cases of Covid-19 recorded in Greece

Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 853,841 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the country, including all those who have recovered from the virus.

Of the 561 patients intubated currently, 84.08% are over the age of 70 or suffer from preexisting conditions. Their average age is 65.

The majority of those who are on ventilators in Greece, or 83.07%, are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Additionally, a total of 3,419 patients have been discharged from ICUs around the country since the beginning of the pandemic.

The 87 new deaths recorded on Wednesday bring the total number of coronavirus-related fatalities in the country to 17,012.