Greece hits new record of 2,917 coronavirus cases, 29 deaths

Just a few hours after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a new nationwide lockdown starting Saturday, Greece registered a record number of new coronavirus cases and deaths on Thursday.

In the regular daily briefing, health authorities on Thursday reported 2,917 new infections and 29 deaths in 24 hours. Greece also had a record number of patients on ventilators, at 187, confirming fears about the impact of rising infections and hospital admissions on the public healthcare system.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases is 49,807, with 702 deaths.

In terms of geographical distribution, Thessaloniki continued to fare poorly with an alarming 862 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday. It was followed by Attica with 588 cases.

Other areas that are struggling to contain the second wave of the pandemic include Serres with 168 new cases, Drama with 162, Larissa with 127, Imathia with 97, Pella with 67 and Pieria with 60.