Health Ministry spokesperson and infectious diseases expert, Professor Sotiris Tsiodras received rave reviews from Sunday's edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), a national German newspaper.
FAZ describes Sotiris Tsiodras as "a doctor for all Greeks" and focuses on the Greek government's fight against COVID-19, as well as the important role played by the infectious disease specialist.
The newspaper notes: "The Greek state does not have a good reputation. It is considered ineffective and cumbersome. However, regarding the management of the coronavirus crisis, Greece has so far not justified its reputation. When these horrific images came from Italy, Spain and France in March from overcrowded hospitals or coffins on military trucks, people around the world were playing no role in the news."
The article then refers to the restrictive measures that were taken very quickly. “There is research in which the policy of Greece is exemplified as an example. Despite the caution about comparing statistics between different countries, one thing is clear: the number of cases and deaths is low. As of Friday, according to John Hopkins University, 2,463 cases and 127 deaths had been recorded. The low number of cases may be due to the relatively few tests. However, in terms of the number of deaths, Greece is at a very good level compared to other countries with similar populations. There are already 2,000 deaths in Sweden, in Belgium 6,500 and even more in Austria. The government in Athens took the situation very seriously early on due to the admission of the weakness in the health system."
It goes on to note the very limited number of ICUs, but also the appointment of Sotiris Tsiodras by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as the head of the Health Ministry's committee of experts on contagious diseases, who according to opinion polls is the most popular Greek at the moment. "Prime Minister Mitsotakis with 66% is in a very good position but does not reach Tsiodras. Almost 95% of the respondents answered positively to the question of evaluation of the work of the man, who every afternoon at 6 speaks about the curve of the cases, collecting a viewing record."
