26 cases of new Covid variant registered in Greece
A total of 26 cases of the new Covid-19 variant have been registered in Greece so far, Panagiotis Arkoumaneas, president of the National Organization for Public Health (EODY), said on Friday.
The figure was made public as Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias held an emergency meeting with epidemiology experts at the Health Ministry to discuss how the new strain can be contained.
Europe’s disease surveillance agency on Thursday warned that three mutant variants of the coronavirus that emerged in Britain, South Africa and Brazil pose a high risk in Europe and will lead to more Covid-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
The variants, which contain mutations or changes to parts of the Covid-19-causing coronavirus that scientists say make them more transmissible, have already been detected in many countries in Europe and will likely continue to do so, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in a risk assessment.
On Thursday, 509 new infections and 25 deaths were recorded, while 293 patients remained intubated. The capacity of intensive care units for Covid was 50% nationwide – 59% in Attica and 57% in Thessaloniki. [Kathimerini/Reuters]
