Cases seen shooting up to new all-time high
After breaking the ceiling on Monday with 9,284 confirmed cases, the number of new coronavirus infections is seen hitting a new all-time high in Greece, the country’s health minister said on Tuesday.
Speaking to state broadcaster ERT, Thanos Plevris confirmed that authorities are bracing for more than 15,000 cases being reported on Tuesday for the 24-hour period until 3 p.m., when the National Organization for Public Health (EODY) complies the daily data on the course of the pandemic.
Indicating that restrictions slated to commence after the New Year’s break might be brought forward, Plevris said the government “wants to look at the numbers today and tomorrow.”
Greece’s national committee of experts, which advises the government on coronavirus policy, is also due to convene on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of more measures.
Earlier in the day, meanwhile, Nikolaos Tzanakis, an expert in respiratory disease and vice president of the Hellenic Thoracic Society, said that the number of active cases right now is estimated at more than 100,000, while warning that certain areas are doing very poorly.
He sounded the alarm over the Greek capital in particular, saying there has been a four-fold increase in new infections since December 7 in parts of Attica.
