Greece’s health authorities are increasingly concerned about a spike of coronavirus infections among the health workers in the country’s hospitals. Infected are doctors and nurses, even in clinics designated to deal with Covid-19 patients only. According to the union of hospital workers POEDIN, 70 health workers have been tested positive in the month of August.
Two days ago, 14 doctors at coronavirus designated hospital AHEPA hospital in Thessaloniki were tested positive to Covid-19. Among them there are 3 epidemiologists who did not return from summer vacations as their colleagues. The case causes concern about the spread of the virus.
In Genimmatas hospital confirmed cases have reached 6 and in Papanikolaou 9. Both hospitals are in Thessaloniki as well.
IN the hospital in Larissa, central Greece, a total of 20 doctors have been infected in last weeks.
Beginning of the week, the Health Ministry ruled that all hospital staff returning form vacations have to undergo a diagnostic test before return to work.
However, POEDIN denounces that the Ministry demands that health workers work as usual while awaiting for the test results.
POEDIN president Michalis Giannakos said that at during the first wave of the pandemic, infections among health personnel in hospitals were “sporadic.”
“Now the hospitals are coronavirus clusters,” he added attributing the phenomenon to the fact that many people both in hospitals as in the communities are “asymptomatic.”
“For the 70 health workers tested positive in August, over 50 were asymptomatic,” Giannakos said pointing out at possible risks for the spread of the virus.
“Test results may need up to two days, but we are obliged to work normally, putting at risk the patients and our colleagues whiteout knowing it,” the POEDIN president said.
He stressed that protection measures for health workers must be increased, so “that we won;t need to disinfect the same gloves again and again during our 8-hour shift.”
He urged for “testing of hospital staff at least once a months in many other European countries” and called on his colleagues to stay at home while waiting for test results.
However, this seems difficult to be done especially in small hospitals.
