Update – 04/11/2021
November 4, 2021
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As of the latest update by the Greek authorities, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece 760,592. 49 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 16,109. The number of patients treated in intensive care units is currently 431. 6,150 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece. 1,267 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 999 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.
Greek health authorities are warily monitoring hospitals’ capacity to deal with the new surge in coronavirus cases.
For the moment, they proclaim the situation “manageable,” but data show that beds are filling faster with new Covid-19 patients than there are discharges and that the number of patients on ventilators remains quite high.
Although it is about half the peak number registered in the previous pandemic surge, many intensive care units that had been repurposed especially to house the intubated patients have reverted back to their prior uses and the private clinics commandeered to manage the overflow of the critically ill are once again treating their own patients.
Reverting back to the emergency measures enacted toward the end of last year is a nightmare scenario for the authorities.
There appears to be a silver lining in the increasing number of unvaccinated persons booking their first jab in the past few days, which has more than double since mid-October, whether because they have been persuaded to set aside their skepticism or scared by the latest developments.
Figures released Wednesday still point to high levels of infection. According to the National Public Health Organization, there were 6,150 new infections in the 24-hour period up to 3 p.m. Wednesday, the second highest daily number registered. While below the record 6,700 cases announced the day before, there were far fewer tests administered (232,409 compared to over 400,000 on Tuesday), so the positivity rate is higher.
Other worrying figures include the positivity rate weekly average, which was 1.3% in mid-October and rose to 2% in the past week; the number of new hospitalizations, 343 in the 24 hours to mid-afternoon on Wednesday compared to 243 discharges; and the number of intubated, steadily high at 431.
Greece will not return to a lockdown because it would be unfair to the three-quarters of the population who have “done the right thing” in getting vaccinated, the prime minister said on Wednesday.
“I do not think the pandemic is over. We are facing a fourth wave which primarily concerns the unvaccinated,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis told private broadcaster Mega TV.
Comparing the situation to a year ago, he underlined that 73% of adults and 63% of the population have been vaccinated and that lockdowns were the answer before the vaccination roll-out.
“Now that we have the vaccine, we are not going to go into lockdown. I’m adamant for the simple reason that at the moment three in four have done the right thing and it would be unfair to impose restrictions at a huge cost to tackle a minority problem today,” he said.
He rejected criticisms from main opposition SYRIZA that churches have been exempted from new measures, which come into force Saturday, that require unvaccinated people to present negative Covid test results to enter a variety of businesses and services.
Mitsotakis said there was often no one at the entrances to churches, so controls would be difficult. He said if there was a way of implementing controls in churches, he would be willing to discuss it.
He also said he had no plans to make vaccinations mandatory for the police or army.
Hundreds of Greek health care workers protested in central Athens against mandatory coronavirus vaccines for their profession Wednesday, a day after the government imposed more restrictions on unvaccinated Greeks amid a spike in infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
About 300 demonstrators chanted slogans and held up banners outside the parliament building, protesting regulations that call for unvaccinated health care workers to be suspended from their jobs.
Health care unions have said they do not oppose the vaccines but object to them being required. Vaccines against the coronavirus are compulsory for workers in Greece’s health care sector and those working in care homes for the elderly.
On Tuesday, Greece reported a record 6,700 new daily Covid-19 cases and 59 deaths, bringing the total in the country of around 11 million to over 750,000 infections and more than 16,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Intensive care units for Covid-19 patients are at over 28% capacity, while regular coronavirus wards in hospitals are nearly half full, officials said.
Health Minister Thanos Plevris said Tuesday that tougher restrictions would be imposed as of Saturday for all unvaccinated people in Greece.
Anyone without a certificate of vaccination or recent recovery from Covid-19 will need to display a negative PCR or rapid test, conducted at their own cost at a private facility, for access to a wide range of facilities, including banks, public services, shops, hair salons and entertainment venues.
Public and private sector employees will also have to take two tests per week, up from the current one, to enter their workplaces.
Around 61% of Greece’s total population has been fully vaccinated, and people age 12 and over are eligible for shots. Booster shots are available for those over 50, and will be available starting Friday to all adults who received their last vaccine dose six months earlier.
In more detail, the 6,150 new cases detected per Regional Unit:
