Update – 18/01/2022
January 18, 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 1,679,705. 101 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 22,087. The number of patients treated in intensive care units is currently 672. 18,834 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece. 6,851 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 1,685 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.
The platform for immunocompromised people to book the fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine will go live on Thursday, health officials announced on Monday.
Marios Themistokleous, General Secretary for Primary Care at the Health Ministry, said the immunocompromised should take the fourth dose three months after their last shot.
The decision concerns patients with hematological and oncological illnesses who under treatment, people receiving immunosuppressive drugs, transplant recipients and patients with rheumatic diseases or renal failure.
He also said that a special platform has been set up to allow the inhabitants of 26 Irelands with a population each of around 1,000 inhabitants make vaccination appointments on specific dates.
Greek health authorities started vaccinating migrant workers working in the fields of the Nea Manolada area of the Peloponnese against Covid-19.
Last week, 84 pickers were vaccinated at the Community Office of Nea Manolada by a mobile unit and on Friday a second vaccination drive will take place, the Health Ministry said.
The goal is to minimize the risk of infection for the workers and the wider community, where they work and live, according to the ministry.
The vaccination drive followed a meeting between Health Minister Thanos Plevris and the representatives of the workers during which it was agreed to start the inoculations immediately.
Manolada, which is an area where strawberries are cultivated, has been frequently lambasted over poor working and living conditions while migrants have complained of not being paid and farm owners’ racist behavior.
The area gained international notoriety in 2013 when a farm foreman opened fire on 42 migrant strawberry pickers after they complained about unpaid wages.
A program for improving procedures aimed at preventing hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in Greece has entered its main phase, which includes collecting data on the current situation, as well as a series of interventions that have already been planned and will be carried out within the next four years to curb HAIs and antimicrobial resistance.
In this context, a single electronic platform for recording HAIs was developed and installed in the 10 public hospitals participating in the program to record the indicators in a uniform manner, as well as the changes achieved.
In addition, the collaborating hospitals have been strengthened with infection surveillance nurses (NELs).
The program, an initiative of the newly established Organization for the Quality of Healthcare and the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Outcomes Research (CLEO), is run by teams of experts from different organizations and health facilities and funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
Greece Monday imposed a vaccination mandate for people over age 60, as coverage remains below the European Union average and a recent spike in infections has sustained pressure on hospitals.
Older people failing to get vaccinated will face penalties, starting at a 50-euro ($57) fine in January and followed by a monthly fine of 100 euros ($114) after that.
About two-thirds of Greece’s 10.7 million population is currently fully vaccinated – the EU average is just over 70%. The rate of death and daily hospitalizations has increased following the recent spread of the Omicron variant, though pressure on ICU capacity has eased slightly.
Health Minister Thanos Plevris said fines would be collected through the tax office with the money to be used to help fund state hospitals.
“The age factor is important because of its impact on the public health service,” Plevris told private Open TV on Sunday.
A vaccination mandate was imposed for health care workers last year. And starting February 1, vaccination certificates for adults will expire after seven months unless the holder receives a booster shot.
New infections sharply surged in early January, and have eased over the past week.
The mandate for over-60s was announced in late December and, according to government data, some 41.5% of the 530,000 people targeted by the measure are now fully vaccinated.
Greece has the seventh oldest population in the world, as measured by share of residents aged 65 and over, according to the U.S.-based Population Reference Bureau.
In more detail, the 18,834 new cases detected per Regional Unit:
