Update –04/04/2022
April 4, 2022
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As of the latest update by the Greek authorities, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece 3,077,711. 58 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 27,684. The number of patients treated in intensive care units is currently 356. 10,358 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece. 3,949 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 941 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.
New cases of the coronavirus declined, as usual, Sunday, because of significantly less testing, but deaths inched upwards while intubations declined slightly, authorities announced.
The number of new Covid infections for the 24-hour period ending 3 p.m. Sunday was 10,358 from 15,823 the day before. There were also 58 deaths, compared to 52 the day before, and 356 patients on ventilators, down from 357 Saturday but up from 342 last Sunday.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 3,077,711 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 27,684 fatalities, 416 of them over the past week.
The validity of Covid vaccination and recovery certificates will be extended to nine months from seven and to six months from three respectively, Health Minister Thanos Plevris announced on Friday.
Speaking to Skai TV, Plevris said the move follows the recommendation of the European Commission for the harmonization of the duration of these documents among member-states. According to Plevris, the issue has been brought to the attention of the committee of experts advising the government on Covid issues, which should formally give the green light to increase the validity period of the certificates.
At the moment, at least, there is no expiration date on the vaccination certificate for those who have had three doses of the vaccine.
Regarding the fourth dose, Plevris reiterated that there should first be a joint decision at the European level and a relevant opinion by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which, he said, is expected very soon.
Weighing in on the plan to de-escalate the restrictive measures during the summer months, he noted that “what we are interested in is that as we approach the summer we move closer to normalcy.”
What’s more, he reckoned that in May the obligation to show a certificate to enter various places will be lifted.
He added that ending the mask mandate indoors is not something that is being considered at present.
“The use of masks indoors is estimated as a relatively mild measure. It is not a measure that restricts either the mobility of our fellow citizens or the economic and social life of the place, and it greatly protects against the virus. Given that indoor activities are very limited in the summer, we do not think we need to consider lifting the mask mandate immediately,” he stated.
A fourth shot of the vaccine against the coronavirus may be necessary in the fall, according to the professor of pediatric infectious diseases and member of the committee of experts advising the government Vana Papaevangelou during a press briefing on the pandemic on Thursday.
“The effectiveness and duration of the third dose is greater than the first two doses, so there is no reason for great anxiety. We are studying the data and we will wait a while and work with other countries,” she said, adding that “most of us believe a repeat dose of the vaccine will be needed in the autumn, but it is still early.”
She also said that based on the mathematical models, the pandemic wave of the Omicron BA2 variant of the coronavirus will peak in the coming days, warning this could lead to increased hospital admissions in the coming weeks.
Moreover, Papaevangelou said that although there has been a stabilization in the number of confirmed cases in Greece compared to previous weeks, there has been a shift of infections to older people, resulting in an increase in hospitalizations.
There are, she said, 176,000 active cases, but it is possible to underestimate the situation as some positive self-test samples are not accompanied by laboratory confirmation, and therefore are not reported to the National Organization for Public Health (EODY).
In more detail, the 10,358 new cases detected per Regional Unit:
