Update – 23/11/2020

As of the latest update by the Greek authorities on Sunday, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece is 91,619. 103 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 1,630. The number of patients treated in intensive care units stands at 540. 1,490 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece, dropping the daily number below 2,000. 218 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 305 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.

A record number of 540 patients in intubation were announced yesterday by Greece’s National Public Health Organization (EODY). The record for most deaths from the start of the pandemic in Greece has also been broken this weekend, with 108 deaths reported on Saturday.

The head of intensive care units at a large Thessaloniki hospital says the system is under intense pressure from the rising number of coronavirus cases and that he fears a third wave of the pandemic early next year. “The situation is desperate, the ICUs are full,” Nikos Kapravelos, head of the ICUs at the Papanikolaou hospital, told Skai TV Sunday. Development and Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis was visiting the hospital at the time. “When Mr Georgiadis opens up the economy, because you can’t do anything else, we won’t stop breathing, I’m afraid that the next wave [of the pandemic] will come in January or February,” he said. “All ages are now stricken [by the virus],” Kapravelos added.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis thanked the 18 nurses who voluntarily went to Thessaloniki from other parts of Greece to help the city’s hospitals deal with increased coronavirus hospitalizations, in a video conference he held with them on Saturday. The Prime Minister called the nurses’ decision to offer their services “not only an act of kindness, but also a deeply patriotic gesture.” Bania Malamati, who traveled to Thessaloniki’s Ippokrateion General Hospital from Crete’s town of Agios Nikolaos, spoke on behalf of the nurses to say that “even though we were all applauded for our decision, it is the health workers at the Thessaloniki hospitals who deserve a very big ‘bravo’ for their efforts.”

In return, Mitsotakis stressed that both the offer to volunteer and the efforts of all health workers prove that “the notions of responsibility and social solidarity are not just empty words,” adding that the human factor always “makes the difference.” The Prime Minister underlined that the government has doubled the number of intensive care beds, now exceeding 1,200 nationwide, and has also proceeded with mass recruitments, many of which will become permanent positions. He noted that 170 more permanent ICU beds are expected over the next two months. Referring to the government’s decision to requisition two private clinics and their staff in Thessaloniki to ease the burden on public hospitals, the Prime Minister said that “when public health is threatened (…) there is no distinction between state and private action,” as all actions are pursued in view of the public benefit. Mitsotakis raised the significance of observing all standing safety measures and restrictions against the pandemic with due diligence, and told the nurses 17 women, one man) that all citizens and health workers need to stay patient a little while longer, as Greece will soon be relieved with the arrival of the coronavirus vaccines.

Authorities appear guardedly confident that new coronavirus cases will start falling this week. Earlier, they had believed that the infection rate would already be on a downward slope, but these hopes were dashed. Now, the consensus is that such a drop will be apparent by the middle of the week, though there are also more pessimistic forecasts of a drop in the infection rate not occurring until later, necessitating an extension of the lockdown.

The second wave of the pandemic has stretched the national health system to its limits, with hospital beds filling rapidly. It has become clear that, in unofficial parlance, “November is not March,” meaning that the conditions during the start of the first lockdown earlier in the year were different, and more favorable, as it is taking more time to flatten the infection curve. There are several factors that weigh in.

Regarding yesterday’s 1,490 cases:

218 cases were detected in the regional unit of Attica

305 cases were detected in the regional unit of Thessaloniki

19 cases were detected in the regional unit of Aitoloakarnania

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Argolida

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Arkadia

8 cases were detected in the regional unit of Arta

28 cases were detected in the regional unit of Achaia

10 cases were detected in the regional unit of Voiotia

5 cases were detected in the regional unit of Grevena

57 cases were detected in the regional unit of Drama

36 cases were detected in the regional unit of Evros

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Evritania

14 cases were detected in the regional unit of Ilia

28 cases were detected in the regional unit of Imathia

29 cases were detected in the regional unit of Iraklio

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Thesprotia

18 cases were detected in the regional unit of Ioannina

23 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kavala

51 cases were detected in the regional unit of Karditsa

5 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kastoria

3 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kerkyra

3 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kefalonia

12 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kilkis

9 cases were detected in the regional unit of Kozani

4 cases were detected in the regional unit of Korinthia

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Lakonia

84 cases were detected in the regional unit of Larissa

5 cases were detected in the regional unit of Lasithi

23 cases were detected in the regional unit of Lesvos

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Lefkada

79 cases were detected in the regional unit of Magnisia

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Messinia

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Mykonos

61 cases were detected in the regional unit of Xanthi

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Paros

50 cases were detected in the regional unit of Pella

57 cases were detected in the regional unit of Pieria

1 case was detected in the regional unit of Preveza

6 cases were detected in the regional unit of Rethimno

22 cases were detected in the regional unit of Rodopi

12 cases were detected in the regional unit of Rodos

55 cases were detected in the regional unit of Serres

80 cases were detected in the regional unit of Trikala

10 cases were detected in the regional unit of Fthiotida

16 cases were detected in the regional unit of Florina

21 cases were detected in the regional unit of Chalkidiki

2 cases were detected in the regional unit of Chania

5 cases remain under investigation

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