All Articles

Update – 30/08/2021

corona virus

As of the latest update by the Greek authorities, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece 581,315. 37 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 13,636. The number of patients treated in intensive care units is currently 334. 1,582 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece. 320 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 138 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.

The government is reportedly mulling alternative scenarios for mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations in the event that the goal of one million new shots is not achieved soon.

Apart from extending the obligation to more professional categories, the introduction of age criteria is also being considered. This would apply to people over the 50-55 age group who are professionally active and are more likely to be hospitalized if they contract the virus.

At the same time, a plan has been drafted to fill the gaps in personnel that will be created by the suspension of health workers that refuse to get vaccinated. This entails fast-track procedures with three-month and six-month recruitment contracts.

Moreover, in order to attract interest, the Health Ministry will offer bonus points that will work in favor of candidates in future competitions for permanent public sector jobs.

Minister of State Akis Skertsos appeared confident that Greece will have created herd immunity at fall, which translates into seven million citizens that are either vaccinated or have naturally acquired immunity to Covid-19, in an article published in newspaper Ta Nea on Saturday.

He rejected arguments that the health restrictions announced by the government seek to “punish” the unvaccinated, saying that their aim was to protect public health. He underlined that the prospect of horizontal measures against the pandemic was “out of the question” and urged those hesitating to be vaccinated to make haste and do so.

“If we had managed to vaccinate the entire population of the country, we would now have just 50 cases intubated in hospitals throughout the country instead of 332. We would, in other words, have converted the pandemic into a severe flu that primarily poses a threat to those suffering from other underlying diseases and that does not have an unbearably high cost in human lives nor overburdens the health system,” he said.

Health professionals are worried about the rise in deaths and emergency check-ins due to the coronavirus.

Matina Pagoni, president of the Athens-Piraeus hospital doctors union, says that deaths are very high given the season and it could get worse once autumn, and colder weather, sets in.

In an interview with TV station Open Sunday morning, Pagoni added that the restart of schools and universities will increase mobility, and congregations, and urged that all returning holidaymakers who hve not already done so ve vaccinated. And while the number of people on ventilators is less than half than during its peak, Pagoni said that the health system is already feeling the pressure.

Across the country, 68% of the emergency rooms dedicated to the pandemic are filled and in some local hospitals it is closer to 90%.

That’s because some of the emergency rooms used at the peak of hospitalizations have been repurposed back to their earlier use, as hospitals also faced a backlog of untreated cases, including postponed surgeries, when they prioritized Covid-19 treatment.

Pagoni said she hopes there will be no more surgery postponements with the new surge in Covid-19 patients.

In more detail, the 1,582 new cases detected per Regional Unit:

  • Attica 320
    • Eastern Attica 58
    • Northern Sector of Athens  40
    • West Attica 8
    • Western Sector of Athens 31
    • Central Sector of Athens 88
    • Southern Sector of Athens 49
    • Islands 8
    • Piraeus 37
  • Thessaloniki 138
  • Etoloakarnania 23
  • Andros 1
  • Argolida 15
  • Arcadia 7
  • Arta 8
  • Achaia 91
  • Boeotia 32
  • Grevena 3
  • Drama 13
  • Evros 18
  • Evia 22
  • Evritania 4
  • Zakynthos 8
  • Ilia 33
  • Imathia 19
  • Heraklion 39
  • Thesprotia 7
  • Thira 2
  • Ithaca 3
  • Ioannina 16
  • Kavala 37
  • Kalymnos 6
  • Karditsa 5
  • Karpathos 1
  • Kastoria 12
  • Corfu 31
  • Kefalonia 7
  • Kilkis 10
  • Kozani 19
  • Corinth 24
  • Kos 8
  • Laconia 9
  • Larissa 60
  • Lasithi 13
  • Lesvos 15
  • Lefkada 11
  • Lemnos 1
  • Magnesia 16
  • Messinia 42
  • Milos 1
  • Mykonos 18
  • Naxos 17
  • Xanthi 15
  • Paros 4
  • Pella 25
  • Pieria 22
  • Preveza 5
  • Rethymno 37
  • Rodopi 8
  • Rhodes 41
  • Samos 4
  • Serres 16
  • Sporades 3
  • Syros 2
  • Tinos 1
  • Trikala 15
  • Fthiotida 15
  • Florina 8
  • Fokida 1
  • Chalkidiki 23
  • Chania 25
  • Chios 8
  • Under investigation 102

Subscribe to our Newsletter