Coronavirus: 2,727 new cases, 44 deaths, 421 intubated
The number of Covid-19 fatalities and intubated patients rose significantly Sunday.
Greek health authorities announced 2,727 new cases of the coronavirus for the 24-hour period ending 3 p.m. Sunday, as well as 44 deaths.
There were 421 patients on ventilators early Sunday afternoon, up from 404 a day earlier and 391 last Sunday.
The highest number of cases was recorded in the Attica region, which includes the capital,Athens, with 537, followed by Thessaloniki (447) and Larissa (226).
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 742,170 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 15,938 fatalities.
“The difficulties are ahead of us; if we do not do something to stop this growth course, the weekly average until November 16 could even reach 5,000 cases,” warned Dimosthenis Sarigiannis, Professor of Environmental Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Speaking on Skai TV, Sarigiannis underscored the need for more tests, with the vaccinated taking a self-test once a week, to stop the latest pandemic wave.
He said this self-diagnostic test should be paid by employers or the state, because it would be unfair for the vaccinated to pay for it.
“A small percentage of the vaccinated, 10%-12%, may fall ill. It will not be serious, precisely because they are vaccinated, they will be asymptomatic,” Sarigiannis explained. He added that the upward trend in infections must be stopped regardless of the increase in vaccination rates.
“Even if 4 million were to be vaccinated tomorrow, it will take a month until they acquire immunity,” he said.
The “alarm bells” are the numbers of cases, deaths and intubations. In Thessaloniki hospitals, he said, “we have only 3 or 4 ICU beds available, and this number is artificially maintained, as we have intubated people outside ICUs.”
Sarigiannis added he he was in favor of door-to-door information campaigns involving “the local priest and the village doctor.”
Regarding the decision to send of daily messages with vaccination prompts, he said: “I think they will get on people’s nerves, but it does not hurt to try.”
