On Thursday, January 4th, 2024, a total of 163 free COVID-19 tests were conducted at central locations across sixty regional units of Greece. 8,343 rapid tests were administered, leading to the discovery of 1,132 positive samples, accounting for 13.63% of the total tests conducted. Among the 1,132 cases, 595 were male and 537 were female, with an average age of 56 years old.
In terms of overall percentage, the trend in Crete closely mirrors that of Greece, with 53 positive Coronavirus 2019 samples out of 354 people tested, accounting for 14.97% of the entire sample. The median age of the samples collected from Crete was 55 years.
When broken down by regional units, Chania and Lasithi exhibited the highest percentage of positive cases. Specifically, Chania had a positive rate of 18.75%, while Lassithi had a rate of 17.39%.
Following closely, Heraklion reported a 13.98% positive rate, and Rethymnon had a 12.9% positive rate. To provide further detail, Chania recorded 12 Coronavirus 2019 positive samples out of 64 taken, Lassithi had 4 positives out of 23, Rethymnon reported 4 out of 31, and Heraklion had 33 out of 236 positive cases.
As winter brings cold weather and drives people indoors, seasonal respiratory viruses like flu and colds are circulating. Meanwhile, the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, has been mutating and spreading. The latest strain, known as JN.1, has garnered attention for its high transmissibility. However, the Hellenic National Public Health Organization has not yet provided any information about the SARS-CoV-2 strain responsible for the new positive cases detected at the beginning of the year.