Greek gov’t in race against time to procure 1 million tests

Plans for a gradual easing of measures to contain Covid-19 will also reportedly hinge on the effort to procure about a million diagnostic tests, essential for shielding the public from a second wave of the virus in the autumn. To this end, the government is scouring the international market for test kits.

Experts have told Kathimerini it will take six months to come up with a proven drug treatment for coronavirus. The head of the specialists who drafted the Covid-19 treatment algorithm in Greece, Panagiotis Gargalianos-Kakolyris, said there are signs medications being used in Greece are effective in treating the virus.

“Based on the treatment algorithm, it is possible to administer, under the strict supervision of a doctor, azithromycin (antibiotic) drugs together with chloroquine (an approved drug for malaria and some autoimmune diseases) or hydroxychloroquine and, in some cases, colchicine,” he said.