Lockdown measures extended in Greece to March 22, with more regions on high-alert

Current lockdown measures are extended through March 22 in the regions of Attica and Thessaloniki, along with several more regions across the country, as announced by Deputy Minister for Civil Protection & Crisis Management Nikos Hardalias at Friday’s regular live briefing on the pandemic’s course in Greece.

The following regions and municipalities will enter high alert status as of 06:00 on Saturday through March 22: the regions of Chalkidiki, Evritania and Lesvos, and the municipalities of Ioannina and Metsovo (Epirus), Katerini (Macedonia), Chania (Crete), and Skiathos (Sporades islands).

Due to the rising trend in new coronavirus infections, the following regions and municipalities will remain in high epidemiological alert to March 22: the regions of Etoloakarnania, Achaia, Boeotia, Evia (except Skyros island), Fthiotida, Fokida, Argolida, Arcadia, Corinth, Arta, Thesprotia, Samos, Lefkada (except Meganisi municipality), and the municipalities of Heraklion and Anogia (Crete), Kalymnos, Rhodes, and of Chios.

Hardalias also reminded the public that movement restrictions will remain in place on Clean Monday (‘Kathara Deftera’, first day of Greek Orthodox Lent), traditionally a kite-flying day. Although the kite flying is not forbidden, it must be done within the city limits or a 2km radius from home, he reiterated, while overnight curfews will stay in effect nationwide.

The closure of schools is extended to March 29, across all grades and throughout the entire country. The few schools that had stayed open in areas of low epidemiological burden will shut down too on March 16 through March 29, as all areas in Greece are now considered high-alert.

Registries of deeds (Ypothikofylakia) will reopen as of Tuesday March 16, by appointment only, the minister added.

Infections rising in large cities

Novel coronavirus infections in Greece appear to be rising in large cities and densely populated areas despite stricter measures, pediatrician of infectious diseases and member of the specialists committee at the Health Ministry Vana Papaevangelou said at the briefing.

She said the rolling average of new infections on a 7-day basis is 2,100 cases, while the rate of positive results in testing has risen to 4.5 pct nationally and to 7 pct in Attica. (Comparatively, the rate of positive results early in January 2021 was under 4 pct and considered good.)

There are a total of 20,000 active infections, half of which are located in Attica Region. The leading age group is that of 25-55 years, or the most active segment of the population.

The doctor also noted a significant rise in Piraeus as well.

As for hospital admissions, from 400 per day they rose to 500 per day in the last two days, “which has put the health system under great pressure.” Attica Region beds in ICUs dedicated to Covid-19 cases have a 92 pct occupancy, she underlined.

The good news relates to vaccinations, as the significant drop of hospitalizations for those over 80 years shows, while she also noted that there is no directive to interrupt vaccinations with AstraZeneca’s vaccine.

Fellow infectious diseases specialist and committee member Gkikas Magiorkinis said the spike in infections is approaching November rates, while the pressure on the health system will continue for two or three more weeks.

Magiorkinis also called on the public to observe measures more faithfully and reduce contacts, while he also noted that things would improve as of this coming Thursday.

Greece will not need Russian or Chinese vaccines

Greece has guaranteed enough vaccines for its population and will not need to resort to Russian or Chinese vaccines, Alternate Health Minister Vassilis Kontozamanis said on Friday.

Responding to a question in Parliament concerning vaccinations on Crete, by Movement for Change (KINAL) MP Vassilis Kegeroglou, he said that Greece is expecting to receive at least 7 million doses in the second quarter of 2021 and over 10 million in the second half of 2021.

In addition, Greece could not use the Russian or Chinese vaccines because they have not been approved by the EU regulator so far, the European Medicines Organization, he said.

As for Crete, Kontozamanis said there are 22 vaccination centers active on the island, with 40 queues. The centers and queues will rise to 29 and 47, respectively as of March 16. So far, 71,642 vaccinations have been carried out on Crete.

Greece registers 2,405 new coronavirus cases on Friday, 49 fatalities; 521 on ventilators

Greece registered 2,405 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, with 14 of these identified at entry points to the country, the National Public Health Organization (EODY) said on Friday.

Greece has confirmed 217,018 infections from the start of the pandemic (daily change: +1.1 pct). In the confirmed cases of the last 7 days, 59 infections are considered related to travel from abroad and 1,881 to already confirmed cases.

There are also 521 patients on ventilators in hospitals, with 67.4 pct of them being men. Their median age is 67 years and 83.5 pct have an underlying condition and/or are aged 70 or more. Another 1,472 have been discharged from ICUs since the pandemic began.

In the last 24 hours, 464 Covid-19 patients were admitted to hospital, a reduction of 7.39 pct since the previous day. The average admission of patients with Covid-19 to hospitals was 417 patients over the last 7 days.

There are also 49 new confirmed deaths, bringing the total of pandemic victims to 6,986. Of these, 95.8 pct had an underlying condition and/or were 70 years old.

The median age of new infections on Thursday was 44, while the median age of the deceased was 79.

neoskosmos.com