Update – 20/11/2020

As of the latest update by the Greek authorities on Tuesday, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece is 85,261. 59 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 1,347. The number of patients treated in intensive care units stands at 499. 3,227 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece, maintaining the daily number above 3,000. 646 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 774 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.

Greek Health Minister Vasillis Kikilias outlined the government’s plan for the vaccination of the country’s population against the novel coronavirus, during the live briefing on the pandemic on Wednesday evening. Speaking alongside the president of the National Vaccinations Committee, Maria Theodoridou, the Minister underscored that the coronavirus vaccine will be given free of charge to all citizens. It will be distributed by the European Union, which has reached agreements for its supply with six pharmaceutical companies. The EU will also absorb part of the vaccine’s cost, so that EU countries can get it at a lower price, and at the same price that all EU member states are paying, he explained. All EU countries will receive the vaccines at the same time and in the same dosages-to-population ratio, clarified Kikilias.

There will be 1,018 vaccination centers designated to serve some 2,117,440 citizens per month: health system workers will receive it first, followed by vulnerable groups and the general population. Vaccinations for the general population will be carried out by appointment in the mornings and afternoons every day except Sundays. The vaccination process should not take more than 10 minutes per person. If necessary, additional vaccination centers can be set up pending the arrival of more vaccines, he noted, “but the 2,117,440 citizens than can be vaccinated per month is already a large number.” The vaccination needs of elderly people in nursing homes will be served by 65 mobile health units of the National Public Health Organization (EODY) and will take ten days to complete.

Refugees and migrants residing at the country’s 34 refugee accommodation centers, the six reception & identification centers and the eight pre-departure centers will be carried out by the medical staff of the EODY. Inmates in Greece’s 35 penitentiary facilities will receive their shots from local and regional health facilities.

Vaccination appointments can be booked by SMS (text) messaging, online, or via call centers. The Minister also thanked the Digital Governance Ministry for help on the digital infrastructure behind the vaccination appointment bookings system. “I am convinced we can do this,” said the Minister, “to gradually start vaccinating our fellow citizens, so that we can build immunity and return to normalcy.”

Police in different parts of the country issued fines worth 134,900 euros for more than 1,350 public health safety violations in a nationwide crackdown on Wednesday, the Hellenic Police press office announced on Thursday. The majority of fines (68.9%) related to violations of restrictions on public movement, such as failure to send an SMS getting authorization for an outing or circulating without permission during the 9 p.m. – 5 a.m. curfew. The remainder of the violations concerned the use of masks, or lack thereof. A supermarket in western Greece was also fined 10,000 euros and shut down for 15 days for failing to produce a disinfection certificate, while two catering businesses in the same region were fined 5,000 euros each for health safety violations. A shop in the southern Aegean, meanwhile, was ordered to pay 3,000 euros for operating when businesses in its particular sector have been ordered to close.

The Health Ministry has enlisted the support of two private hospitals in the ongoing battle against the novel coronavirus, securing an additional 200 beds for Covid-19 patients in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, where transmission has been particularly widespread. The government was compelled to force the issue by activating a recent law giving it control over private medical facilities during the pandemic, after an invitation for clinics to step forward and provide beds in the northern port city expired on Thursday night. According to the head of the Panhellenic Association of Private Clinics, they refused to respond to the invitation because they lack the facilities to isolate Covid-19 patients from others and the expertise and training to deal with the disease. “Human lives will be put at risk,” Grigoris Sarafianos told Skai TV on Friday morning, saying that Thessaloniki’s nine private clinics had offered to take in a total of 1,000 patients from the region’s coronavirus referral hospitals to help them cope with the influx of patients, but were ill-prepared to set up specialized Covid-19 wards. “The staff needs to be trained. This is not something that can happen in a single day,” he added, saying that around 3,800 private nurses and doctors had been enlisted to the public health system in February, leaving private clinics with a shortage of experienced staff.

State hospitals in Thessaloniki and other parts of northern Greece have been struggling to cope with the influx of coronavirus patients, adding beds from other wards and setting up isolation tents after reaching capacity.

Regarding yesterday’s 3,227 cases:

646 cases were detected in the regional unit of Attica

774 cases were detected in the regional unit of Thessaloniki

27 cases were detected in the regional unit of Aitoloakarnania

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Argolida

14 cases were detected in the regional unit of Arkadia

4 cases were detected in the regional unit of Arta

52 cases were detected in the regional unit of Achaia

10 cases were detected in the regional unit of Voiotia

26 cases were detected in the regional unit of Grevena

112 cases were detected in the regional unit of Drama

43 cases were detected in the regional unit of Evros

7 cases were detected in the regional unit of Evoia

14 cases were detected in the regional unit of Evritania

3 cases were detected in the regional unit of Zakinthos

13 cases were detected in the regional unit of Ilia

109 cases were detected in the regional unit of Imathia

20 cases were detected in the regional unit of Iraklio

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Thesprotia

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Thassos

11 cases were detected in the regional unit of Ioannina

46 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kavala

17 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kalimnos

77 cases were detected in the regional unit of Karditsa

11 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kastoria

4 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kerkyra

11 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kefalonia

68 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kilkis

18 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kozani

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Korinthia

5 cases were detected in the regional unit of Lakonia

155 cases were detected in the regional unit of Larissa

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Lasithi

15 cases were detected in the regional unit of Lesvos

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Limnos

107 cases were detected in the regional unit of Magnisia

12 cases were detected in the regional unit of Messinia

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Mykonos

35 cases were detected in the regional unit of Xanthi

5 cases were detected in the regional unit of Paros

149 cases were detected in the regional unit of Pellas

103 cases were detected in the regional unit of Pieria

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Preveza

8 cases were detected in the regional unit of Rethimno

31 cases were detected in the regional unit of Rodopi

17 cases were detected in the regional unit of Rodos

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Samos

156 cases were detected in the regional unit of Serres

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Sporades

38 cases were detected in the regional unit of Trikala

22 cases were detected in the regional unit of Fthiotida

61 cases were detected in the regional unit of Florina

5 cases were detected in the regional unit of Fokida

73 cases were detected in the regional unit of Chalkidiki

18 cases were detected in the regional unit of Chania

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Chios

48 cases remain under investigation

• Share: