The epidemiological picture of coronavirus in our country resembles a nightmare scenario that comes back to life for a second round, as coronovirus rates rise and winter is just round the corner.
In a predictable course, based on the picture recorded by the EODY on Monday, the country exceeded 4,000 coronovirus cases for six successive days. It is also noted that the number of critically ill patients has also increased in the last 24 hours, naming the number of intubated patients at 380 across the country.
According to EODY, the very numbers of the new laboratory-confirmed cases of the disease, recorded in the last 24 hours rate at 4.165, while new deaths from the pandemic at 25. The number of coronovirus tests taken yesterday amounted to 380,000.
Environmental engineering professor Demosthenes Sarigiannis, interviewed on Mega tv, predicted that by November 17 we might be facing 5,000 cases a day.
The virus load in urban centres’ wastewater is soaring
In main urban centres the wastewater is heavily charged, runs the EODY latest data. According the laboratory tests’ data of the National Wastewater Epidemiology Network for the epidemiological surveillance of coronavirus in urban wastewater, compared to last week, increasing changes were observed in the urban wastewater of ten of the twelve (10/12) areas tested, well portrayed is an 200% increase in Chania and 131% in Patras.
The threatening face of the oncoming winter Scientists are fully alarmed in view of the oncoming winter, being likely that the infection rates are to climb. A number of infections along the Covid 19 virus, will be bringing on a unfamiliar medical picture.
Speaking about the dissemination of the coronavirus and the influenza virus, Maria Theodoridou, president of the National Vaccination Committee noted this afternoon that the possibility of coinfection increases mortality by 20%. Although covid restrictions have been lifted thanks to immunisation of the vaccinated population, scientists estimate that the longer a country or region had been under restrictive measures, the greater the number of people will be vulnerable to flu during this winter and in the years to come.
Northern Greece and Thessaly on the red list
The experts' warnings come at a time when the epidemiological picture in northern Greece and Thessaly seems to be rapidly threatening. It is the region of Larissa in particular, which records 349 cases since the beginning of the coronovirus pandemic, that stands out as posing extreme threat to the public.
Up to today coronavirus cases rate as high as 122 per 100,000 inhabitants, recorded as the highest rate in Greece. Magnesia is also on the rise, with 221 new cases of coronavirus recorded in the last 24 hours.
Alarming rise of covid dissemination in Thessaloniki
In Thessaloniki, the epidemiological burden remains extremely high, numbering 600 cases, bringing back memories of last October, starting point of the second epidemiological outbreak in the country. It was a year ago, paying tribute to Salonica at the October 28th national memory holiday, when
the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, had announced measures to face the pandemic, receiving severe criticism for rules against crowd meetings.
A people of religious men and women overcrowding the Metropolitan Church of Salonica today, paying no attention to the covid rules, abiding not with the facial mask and social distancing restrictions, assembled to practise worship, part of which is physical kissing of the religious icons.
Parades cancelled in high rated areas
The spread of coronavirus remains steadily increasing throughout northern Greece, rating 140 coronovirus cases in Imathia, 122 in Pella, 114 in Pieria and 102 in Serres. In the above regions, as in Thessaly, the 28th October national memory parade has been cancelled, due to the increased epidemiological load in the regions.
Vaccination to stem the tide of the dissemination
“The vaccination rate, our behaviour and weather conditions, will be determining the morbidity in the community”, said Maria Theodoridou, president of the National Vaccination Committee, during a briefing on the National Plan for vaccination coverage for COVID-19.
The board of experts on coronavirus and its chairman, Professor Sotiris Tsiodras, have long pointed out the link between low vaccination coverage and an increase in morbidity. However, according to announcements today by Marios Themistocleous, the Secretary General for Health Care, there appears to be a stagnation in the progress of vaccination. On the last day
8.717 citizens received the first dose of the vaccine, while 12.213 were at a vaccination centre to receive a booster dose.
"More than 6.350.000 of our fellow citizens have completed their vaccination, which represents 60.5% of the general population and 69.8% of the adult population. The corresponding average in the European Union for completed vaccinations is 64.7% of the general population and 74.5% of the adult population," Marios Themistocleous reported.
Moreover, it seems that the percentage of people from special groups coming in for the third dose is presently higher than that of the first time vaccinated population.
Data on vaccinations
Marios Themistocleous also gave the vaccination rates by age group:
For the age group 85 and over, 75.3% vaccinated
For the age group 80-84, 74.4% vaccinated
For the age group 75-79, 86.4% vaccinated
For the 70-74 age group, 80.8% vaccinated
For the 65-69 age group, 82.9% vaccinated
For the 60-64 age group, 79.4% vaccinated
For the 55-59 age group, 77.8% vaccinated
For the 50-54 age group, 75.2% vaccinated
For the 45-49 age group, 72.9% vaccinated
For the 40-44 age group, 69,0% vaccinated
For the 35-39 age group, 62.5% vaccinated
For the 30-34 age group, 62.7% vaccinated
For the 25-29 age group, 63,0% vaccinated
For the age group 18-24, 60.2% vaccinated
In the 15-17 age group, 35.8% have already been vaccinated
In the 12-14 age group, 21.4% have been vaccinated.