Covid-19: How cases pan out in August pivotal for fall

The course of the coronavirus in mid-August is expected to a large degree to determine the amount of “freedom” people will have this coming fall.

A good scenario would be for the number of cases to remain constant at the current, high levels, where an average of 2,650 new cases are recorded on a daily basis.

However, the August 15 holiday week, which is a time of peak travel, and the highly contagious Delta variant foreshadow an increase in cases in the near future, which, however, is not expected to be exponential and deemed manageable by the country’s health system.

In comments to Kathimerini, Charalambos Gogos, professor of pathology of the University of Patra and a member of the Health Ministry’s committee of experts, said that estimates of a non-exponential increase are “based on the fact that the spread of the coronavirus at this stage remains in the 25-35 age group, that older people are vaccinated to a relatively large extent, and that the National Health System now has experience in managing the pandemic.” 

At the same time, he pointed that the August 15 holiday celebrations could pose of problem and advised strict adherence to protocols provided for health safety.

Given that August is considered a pivotal month, scientists are urging all those who have not been vaccinated to schedule an appointment, and recommend the use of a mask during the August 15 holiday celebrations.

What’s more, they issued a renewed call to all those returning from vacations to limit their contacts for one week to the absolutely necessary and to do at least two self-diagnostic tests, on the second and fifth day after their return, to ensure that, along with holiday souvenirs, they do not also not bring back the coronavirus.