Internationally, Greece has been praised as one of the world’s most successful case studies in the fight against the coronavirus. It’s decisive preventive measures early on in the crisis, including the closing down early and taking the necessary measures to avoid wide-spread infection and the uncontrolled spread of the virus within the community has won the country plaudits around the world.
Recently, however, the number of infections have been on the rise. Epidemiologists are not yet talking about a second wave of the pandemic for the simple reason that the first wave has not ended.
Despite that tempered optimism, the latest numbers are stunning. At the peak of the first outbreak, Greece only recorded triple-digit infection numbers, on an every-day basis, twice – when the Greek health authorities included the cumulative number of cases on a cruise ship and at a facility for illegal migrants, where the spread was easily controlled with a strict lockdown of the site.
Over the past week, however, Greece’s health officials have announced more than 100 new daily cases on numerous occasions. The number of daily, new infections might be going up exponentially, however, so far, the situation does not seem to be out of control. The number of atients hospitalised in ICU beds currently stands at slightly over 10, which means that the system is far from reaching its maximum capacity.
When the pandemic began in late February, Greece had just under 600 ICU beds, far below the European average. Over the past months, and with coordinated efforts between Greece’s public and private sectors, more than 600 new beds have been added and the National Healthcare System has more than 1,200 beds available, nationwide.
The new cases have revealed that who is now being infected has shifted dramatically from earlier in the pandemic as most new patients are younger age and, in some cases, asymptomatic – a development in the life of COVID-19 that has many in the Greek government sounding the alarm.
New measures have, therefore, been initiated to curb the spike. Masks are now mandatory in most closed spaces. Only offices with limited access to the public are exempt. They are mandatory across the public sector, both for employees and the citizens visiting them. The obligation to wear masks also extends to churches, with the faithful having to pray under different circumstances than they’re used to. The Greek government has also advised citizens to wear masks in outdoor spaces where social distancing cannot be successfully kept.
Until August 15, visitors will not, for the most part, be allowed into hospitals or pensioners’ homes. Marriages, christenings, and funerals will continue to take place with a maximum of 100 guests until August 31. Until August 9, non-seated customers will be banned from traditional and beach bars.
What concerns the Greek authorities is that the so-called R0, the index for the transmission of the virus, which was extremely low at 0.4 until some days ago has now reached 1, which is considered a red line.
As a result, the Greek authorities are taking measures that will set boundaries on social interactions. Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has spearheaded the effort and recently demonstrated his commitment to wearing masks during a mini-government reshuffle when those involved were sworn in wearing masks.
If the new measures are kept, specialists are hopeful that the new spike will be curbed effectively. However, stricter measures might be around the door to keep the outbreak in check. Mitsotakis has already ruled out a second general lockdown, which will be catastrophic for the Greek economy.
