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Greek Govt is mulling “hard lockdown” for Attica – Emergency meeting with PM

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has conveyed an emergency meeting with top health officials on Tuesday to discuss recommendations for a hard lockdown for the regional unit of Attica that is home to 4-5 million people. Epidemiologists have recommended a 3-week hard lockdown like in spring 2020 due to a spike of coronavirus infections.

Earlier on Tuesday, Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias said in an interview with Open TV that expert reports submitted to the Health Ministry in recent days have been dictating the need for stricter restrictions in broader Attica area, where transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been rising in recent days, leading to a spike in hospital admissions and intubations.

Crucial for the hard lockdown decision is the number of infections on Tuesday, as numbers have been traditionally lower in the last 3 days following much fewer tests on the weekends.

“Everything will depend on the number of infections,” Kikilias said and did not rule out that schools may close again. He said that there is an infections increase of 11% in schools in age group 0-9.

“The battle is against time, meaning until we can get 60-70% of the population vaccinated, the battle is against time,” Kikilias said adding “I believe, therefore, that it is imperative that we walk the right path. We have no right to do anything less than what the situation demands.”

Pressure on the public health system is immense and 10 out of 15 intubations of Covid-19 patients are in Attica, media report. Leading designated hospitals in Athens like Evangelismos, Sotiria and Genimmatas are reportedly reaching their capacity for simple Covid-19 beds.

Last week, there was an increase of 205% in the sewage of Attica, professor for analytical chemistry Nikosd Thomaidis has warned.

The meeting at the Prime Minister’s office is scheduled for 1:30 Tuesday noon.

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One comment

  1. remember the vietnam era “we had to destroy the village in order to save it”? sound familiar?