Update – 18/11/2020

As of the latest update by the Greek authorities on Tuesday, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece is 78,825. 63 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 1,228. The number of patients treated in intensive care units stands at 443. 2,422 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece, maintaining the daily number above 2,000. 513 of the new cases were found in the Attica region.

With hospitals around the country near to breaking point under the pandemic’s growing pressure, the first signs have emerged that the restrictive measures may be beginning to work, according to recent sewage water analysis in Thessaloniki and Athens that showed a reduction of the viral load. “I think that we are starting, possibly from the middle and toward the end of this week, to flatten the curve of Thessaloniki,” said the rector of the northern port city’s Aristotle University, Nikos Papaioannou. He said the curve was rising last week, although not as exponentially as in October, and estimated that by the end of the month we will probably see the “coveted fall.” A similar de-escalation was also predicted for Attica by Nikos Thomaidis, professor of analytical chemistry at Athens University. 

The four cases of coronavirus that have recently struck the Olympiakos basketball team have led to the postponement of both of its Euroleague games this week against Barcelona and Villeurbanne. Everyone in the Piraeus team (players, coaches, and staff) has gone into isolation while all training sessions at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Faliron, southern Athens, have been cancelled. Team members will undergo further tests on Wednesday.

As the nationwide lockdown entered Day 10 on Tuesday, authorities are bracing for continued pressure on the public health system for another week at least, as the number of new coronavirus infections, intubations and deaths continue to rise rapidly across the country. Experts attribute the continued increase in new cases to a more relaxed public attitude in the lead-up to the lockdown and on looser restrictions put in place in October and since the start of the second lockdown on November 7. They say that restrictions can only be safely eased once daily cases drop to around 500, from a current level of between 2,000-3,000 a day.

With the health crisis in full swing, Tuesday’s anniversary of the 1973 student uprising against the military junta is seen as a test of the government’s resilience in the face of a politically charged atmosphere due to the ban on public gatherings and rallies due to the pandemic. Despite health experts insisting that the coming week will be critical, the ban on gatherings of more than four people has been deplored by all three of the left-wing parties in Parliament as it also scraps the traditional march in Athens ending at the US Embassy. 

The drop in daily coronavirus cases below the 3,000 mark is not evidence that the pandemic is easing, epidemiologist Nikos Sipsas said on Tuesday, warning that an average of 10% of tests are still coming back positive, high above the World Health Organization’s safety limit of 4%. The transmissibility rate, he added, remains at between 1.2 and 1.4, above the WHO’s highest acceptable rate of R1. Speaking on Skai TV on Tuesday morning, Sipsas, who is also one of the government’s advisers on the pandemic, said that the reduction in the average age of intubated patients from 75 to 65 years old is also cause for concern. “We see tragic scenes at hospitals of 50-year-olds coming in, unable to breathe,” he said. “The virus is showing its teeth and it looks very ugly.”

Regarding yesterday’s 2,422 cases:

513 cases were detected in the regional unit of Attica

597 cases were detected in the regional unit of Thessaloniki

17 cases were detected in the regional unit of Aitoloakarnania

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Andros

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Argolida

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Arkadia

4 cases were detected in the regional unit of Arta

34 cases were detected in the regional unit of Achaia

15 cases were detected in the regional unit of Voiotia

30 cases were detected in the regional unit of Grevena

87 cases were detected in the regional unit of Drama

49 cases were detected in the regional unit of Evros

12 cases were detected in the regional unit of Evoia

3 cases were detected in the regional unit of Evritania

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Zakinthos

10 cases were detected in the regional unit of Ilia

62 cases were detected in the regional unit of Imathia

20 cases were detected in the regional unit of Iraklio

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Thesprotia

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Thassos

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Thira

17 cases were detected in the regional unit of Ioannina

36 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kavala

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Kalimnos

11 cases were detected in the regional unit of Karditsa

18 case was detected in the regional unit of Kastoria

3 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kea

15 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kerkyra

48 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kilkis

24 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kozani

11 cases were detected in the regional unit of Korinthia

3 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kos

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Lakonia

159 cases were detected in the regional unit of Larissa

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Lasithi

11 cases were detected in the regional unit of Lesvos

10 cases were detected in the regional unit of Limnos

42 cases were detected in the regional unit of Magnisia

11 cases were detected in the regional unit of Messinia

32 cases were detected in the regional unit of Xanthi

76 cases were detected in the regional unit of Pellas

14 cases were detected in the regional unit of Pieria

5 cases were detected in the regional unit of Preveza

3 cases were detected in the regional unit of Rethimno

39 cases were detected in the regional unit of Rodopi

12 cases were detected in the regional unit of Rodos

103 cases were detected in the regional unit of Serres

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Sporades

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Siros

17 cases were detected in the regional unit of Trikala

24 cases were detected in the regional unit of Fthiotida

58 cases were detected in the regional unit of Florina

5 cases were detected in the regional unit of Fokida

52 cases were detected in the regional unit of Chalkidiki

12 cases were detected in the regional unit of Chania

3 cases were detected in the regional unit of Chios

71 cases remain under investigation

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