A case of coronavirus discovered in the port of Chania on Crete has health officials puzzled. Last week a 20-yer old patient tested positive for COVID-19 at a Chania hospital. Authorities say the Swedish telecommunications worker came into contact with many people before being diagnosed.
The Swedish national was tested positive to COVID-19 and is now hospitalized at the hospital’s COVI-18 clinic, according to news sources. The man is a telephone and internet support worker in town representing an unnamed company in Chania.
Health authorities are on high alert trying to trace the patient’s contacts in an effort to contain the potential spread of the deadly virus. Apart from some 8-10 confirmed cases at the beginning of the pandemic in March the island has remained coronavirus-free.
Back at the beginning of May, three Swedish nationals were tested positive, while staying in 14-day quarantine in Athens. One of them was hospitalized with respiratory difficulties. Those subjects arrived at the Greek capital from Stockholm for work.
State broadcaster ERT TV confirmed on Thursday morning that the 20-year-old Swedish national arrived in Athens on May 5 and he was tested positive. The third test was clear and therefore he was allowed to travel to Crete after the 14-day quarantine.
The news heightens fears here on Crete that the opening of borders for tourists may spell disaster for Greece, and especially for the country’s most visited tourist island. Crete is the perfect example of how island isolation can be exceptionally beneficial in a pandemic, or catastrophic if the virus takes hold here. Locals are extremely nervous over this Chania case/slipup.