Greece’s National Public Health Organization (EODY) announced yesterday yet another shattered COVID-19 record. On Saturday, the number of deaths from the effects of the coronavirus reached 108 deaths as 2,311 new infections added to the toll of 522 patients intubated at hospitals.
According to Greek officials, of the 2,311 new cases, only 18 were detected after checks at the country’s gateways. The total number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic is 90,121, of which 53.4 percent are men. Of the total cases, 4,787 (5.3 percent) are considered related to travel from abroad and 22,901 (25.4 percent) are related to an already known case.
The 108 new deaths bring the total to 1,527 since the beginning of the pandemic. Of the total number of casualties, 608 (39.8 percent) are women and the rest are men. The median age of the casualties was 80 years and 97.1 percent of them had an underlying disease and/or were age 70 years and over.
Meanwhile, the government is eying lifting the lockdown imposed on November 7th. According to news from The Mayor dot EU, the full plan of the Greek government is expected to be presented sometime next week. There will, reportedly, be major changes to be expected to be gradually introduced after 7th December, including:
- Schools and kindergartens could reopen as the Greek government has not observed a severe link between their closure and the increase in COVID-19 cases.
- Retail stores could also be slated for a reopening as their closure has not proven to have had a serious impact on the spread of the disease
- It is possible for restaurants and cafes to be allowed to resume operations at some point before Christmas but nightclubs and bars will most likely remain closed for an extended period of time.
The news Greek officials admitted having waited to long to institute the current lockdown casts a shadow over the coming measures. We reported yesterday on the Greek healthcare system already being overwhelmed, so the latest numbers do not speak well for the lifting of the lockdown, or the lax measures officials seem ready to put in place.