Wearing a face mask is one of the best ways stop the spread of COVID-19, Greece's Health Ministry spokesperson and infectious diseases expert Professor Sotiris Tsiodras said, describing their use as a “personal lockdown.”
Greece recorded 207 new cases of COVID-19 in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
This raises the total number of cases to 10,524.
2,112 are considered to be related to travel from abroad and 4,710 are related to an already known case.
Tsiodras also said that the current dispersal rate of the coronavirus is dynamic. He noted that 137 cases were detected in August alone at enclosed facilities, such as refugee accommodations, which health authorities are still concerned about. The virus does not discriminate, he added.
Thirty-eight individuals are in the ICU, and their median age is 68 years. 94.7% have an underlying condition or are aged 70 and above.
Another 153 have been discharged from ICUs since the start of the pandemic in Greece.
The country’s pandemic death toll stands at 271. The median age of all was 78 years and 95.9% of the deceased had an underlying condition.
The Australian-born immunologist also expressed his optimism that the results of vaccine clinical trials will be available by the end of October. “I would not like to see the vaccine as a cause for political controversy”, he said, adding that there was already a lot of fake news circulating around the world.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Civil Protection and Crisis Management, Nikos Hardalias met with the head of the National Transparency Authority (NTA), Angelos Binis, and NTA officials on Tuesday.
After thanking the executives and employees of the NTA for their contribution to the "daily fight against coronavirus and the heightened sense of responsibility they show in the performance of their duties," Hardalias stressed that "the faithful observance of the measures for tackling the pandemic is a crucial matter in order to safeguard the health of all."
He added that "the National Transparency Authority's contribution to this daily battle is invaluable." He reiterated that "only together can we succeed and only together can we ensure the strict observance of the measures. And this is a necessity that is dictated to all of us, it is our duty toward the vast majority of citizens who place their trust in us every day and, with an abundance of patience and perseverance, implement the measures both in the first 'Stay Home' phase and the current second 'Stay Safe' phase."
