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Update – 10/11/2021

corona virus

As of the latest update by the Greek authorities, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece 801,208. 46 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 16,414. The number of patients treated in intensive care units is currently 486. 8,613 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece. 1,999 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 1,440 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.

Greece on Tuesday hit a record high in new Covid-19 cases for a second day running, with the government ruling out a lockdown or school closures but warning that it might need to mobilize private doctors in badly hit areas.

The surge over the past week has put pressure on Greece’s health system, with hospitals filling up in parts of the country. Health Minister Thanos Plevris said the situation was “manageable, but very pressing.”

Plevris said private clinics in Greece’s worst-hit northern areas were providing extra beds for state hospital patients, while medical staff were being transferred to struggling areas. He said private doctors have been invited to voluntarily assist the state health system where needed.

“If there is no response within this week … then their services will be requisitioned,” he told private Skai TV.

Plevris ruled out a new lockdown or an end to in-person school classes, and the government insists that vaccinated people will not face significant restrictions again.

About 61% of Greece’s population has been fully vaccinated, which is below the European Union average of 75%.

But health ministry officials said Monday that over the past seven days there’s been an 185% increase in first vaccination appointments and a 200% surge in booster shot appointments.

They linked the increases with new measures that took effect Saturday under which unvaccinated people can enter banks, government departments and most shops only if they show a recent negative Covid-19 test. The same applies to outdoor restaurant and cafe areas, while vaccinated people are allowed indoors at such establishments. Unrestricted access is still allowed for supermarkets, food shops and pharmacies.

As many worshippers continue to gather at churches without masks and without observing social distancing, the spokesman of the Permanent Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, Timotheos, claimed on Monday that “sacred icons do not transmit the virus.”

“As the Apostle Paul told us, there are those who are strong in the faith who manage everyday things as they see fit,” he said in comments to Mega TV. Last week the Church of Greece urged people to take rapid tests before attending services.

“The Holy Synod made an appeal and an exhortation,” Timotheos said, stressing that “it did not impose on the faithful and priests what to do.”

Greece today is expecting to receive 2,000 doses of monoclonal antibodies, which will be delivered to the Pharmaceutical Research and Technology Institute.

Greece is participating in an EU program for the supply of monoclonal antibody treatments for patients Covid-19. The antibodies will be offered to patients at public hospitals on the basis of specific medical criteria, which the expert panel of infectious disease experts is currently examining.

The intravenous treatment must be administered in hospitals under medical supervision and its aim is to prevent the disease from becoming more acute.

Monoclonal antibodies are proteins made in a lab that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight the coronavirus.

Procedures are underway to also procure the anti-viral pills developed by Merck. However, scientists warned that the existence of good and effective treatments does not eliminate the need for vaccination.

The resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic is once again testing the resilience of the National Health System (ESY), with infections shooting up rapidly and the death rate rising ominously.

The occupancy rate of Covid beds throughout the country stood at 56.3%, while the figure for intensive care unit beds was 88.9%.

More specifically, northern and central Greece are coming under mounting pressure, with all ICU beds in Central Macedonia reaching full capacity on Monday, while the occupancy is very high throughout the wider region.

At the same time, the representatives of doctors and hospital employees are talking about particularly increased demand for care in Attica concerning non-Covid cases, as a result of which auxiliary beds known in Greek as “rantza” are making their appearance at large on-duty hospitals.

The president of the Public Hospital Workers Federation (POEDIN), Michalis Giannakos, referred to mounting pressure on beds at the Attikon Hospital, with queues of patients in the Emergency Department waiting to be examined.

Echoing the same concern, the president of the Association of Doctors of Athens-Piraeus Hospitals, Matina Pagoni, described an equally extremely difficult situation at the Gennimatas Hospital, warning that “the worst is ahead of us.”

Ministry officials told Kathimerini Monday that at least the situation is manageable at the moment and that until Monday there was no need to further activate the operational plan for the treatment of Covid-19 which foresees functional changes, such as the suspension of surgeries at all hospitals or designating hospitals exclusively for Covid cases.

However, it was noted that this could change at any time as there are already individual cases where hospitals are adjusting their operations to be able to meet the increased demand.

In more detail, the 8,613 new cases detected per Regional Unit:

  • Attica 1,999
    • Eastern Attica 245
    • Northern Sector of Athens  276
    • West Attica 87
    • Western Sector of Athens 277
    • Central Sector of Athens 623
    • Southern Sector of Athens 209
    • Piraeus 256
    • Islands 26
  • Thessaloniki 1,440
  • Agio Oros 1
  • Etoloakarnania 137
  • Andros 1
  • Argolida 44
  • Arcadia 48
  • Arta 45
  • Achaia 307
  • Boeotia 75
  • Grevena 36
  • Drama 112
  • Evros 132
  • Evia 65
  • Evritania 7
  • Zakynthos 21
  • Ilia 47
  • Imathia 207
  • Heraklion 111
  • Thassos 20
  • Thesprotia 38
  • Thira 6
  • Ikaria 1
  • Ioannina 165
  • Kavala 102
  • Kalymnos 12
  • Karditsa 103
  • Karpathos 1
  • Kastoria 36
  • Corfu 87
  • Kefalonia 18
  • Kilkis 95
  • Kozani 218
  • Corinth 72
  • Kos 11
  • Laconia 56
  • Larissa 571
  • Lasithi 39
  • Lesvos 106
  • Lefkada 18
  • Lemnos 7
  • Magnesia 276
  • Messinia 106
  • Milos 8
  • Mykonos 8
  • Naxos 3
  • Xanthi 98
  • Paros 5
  • Pella 217
  • Pieria 119
  • Preveza 29
  • Rethymno 79
  • Rodopi 70
  • Rhodes 56
  • Samos 1
  • Serres 196
  • Sporades 10
  • Syros 4
  • Tinos 1
  • Trikala 144
  • Fthiotida 150
  • Florina 52
  • Fokida 15
  • Chalkidiki 108
  • Chania 46
  • Chios 5
  • Under investigation 169

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