Greek health authorities are concerned about the possible spread of the new, mutated strain of coronavirus that is thought to be a lot more contagious than the previous one. The number of cases infected with the mutated strain have rose to 26.
The majority of those infected with the new strain are travelers who came from abroad and were detected at the entrance gates of the country. However, for two cases the source of contamination cannot be traced.
The two patients infected with the mutated strain live in Athens and Heraklio Crete. They have not traveled abroad or had contact with someone who has traveled abroad recently, media reported. However, the two patients have reportedly traveled within the country.
The fact that the source of their infection cannot be traced may indicate more widespread transmission of the new variant than tests would suggest and has set health authorities on alert.
The mutated strain arrived in Greece around Christmas and New Year with travelers who came from UK and Dubai.
The identification of the new strain was detected at the Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens (IIBEAA) on Tuesday.
According to media, the 24 infected are in quarantine hotels, while the two in Athens and Crete are in house isolation.
Extensive tracing of the two cases is expected with the aim to find the source of contamination.
Testing is expected to intensify to get a clearer picture about possible spread of the mutated strain in the community.
The new strain and is already seen as responsible for a spike in cases in the UK and other parts of the world. the so-called :UK strain” appears to have 70% higher contamination.
