Greece’s health authorities reported 20,084 new infections on Tuesday, as the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 continued to drive the sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
On Monday, the National Organization for Public Health (EODY) had reported 7,682 new cases.
Of the daily total, reinfections are estimated at 3,664 in the last 24 hours.
The daily data also showed 16 more COVID-related deaths bringing the total of pandemic victims to 30,206. Of these, 95.7 percent had an underlying condition and/or were aged 70 or over.
A total of 95 patients are in intensive care units at the moment. Their median age is 71 years and 91.6 percent have an underlying condition and/or are aged 70 or over.
COVID-19 restrictions may be reimposed throughout Greece in the fall, the country’s health minister warned on Monday. The news comes amid the latest surge of cases after the country eased safety measures, as it now welcomes a flood of tourists.
COVID-19 cases in Greece expected to peak in mid-July
Cases are expected to peak nationwide at 25,000 by mid-July, according to Dimosthenis Sarigiannis, a professor of Environmental Engineering at Aristotle University.
This month, Greece surpassed 30,000 coronavirus deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, but cases dropped enough in recent months that nearly all restrictions could be removed.
On Friday, Greek authorities’ decision to recommend a second COVID-19 booster shot for individuals over thirty was criticized by a leading health specialist.
The current recommendation for a second booster shot for people aged 30 to 59 who do not belong to the vulnerable groups “is not accompanied by the necessary documentation,” said Elias Mossialos, Professor of Health Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
COVID-19 surges across Europe
Multiple European countries are experiencing a significant surge in new COVID-19 infections, as experts warn that with almost all restrictions lifted and booster take-up often low, cases could soar throughout the summer leading to more deaths.
According to the Our World in Data scientific aggregator, the rolling seven-day average of confirmed new cases per million inhabitants is on the rise in countries including Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
⚠️Very worried about #BA5 causing #COVID19 hospitalization surges everywhere it goes—bad it’s very past-immunity-evasive. Portugal hit 80-90% of its old hospitalization peak recently. UK hospitals strained to the brink now too. Bad trends many in places.🧵
HT @jburnmurdoch pic.twitter.com/8MZUOyUglN
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) June 27, 2022
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