Greece will extend its nationwide lockdown until December 7 as COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the country, government spokesman Stelios Petsas announced on Thursday.
“There are some indications of a reduction in the number of cases. If this pace continues then the pressure on the National Health System will begin to decrease. Then we can plan a gradual return to some kind of normalcy. At the moment, the existing measures for the coronavirus are being extended until Monday, December 7, 2020," he said.
Petsas asked citizens to comply with the measures, especially in the most affected areas- Thessaloniki, Serres, Larissa, Magnesia, Aitolia, Acarnania, Achaia, and Lesvos.
“The government, with the help of the special services, is closely monitoring the developments. The next steps will be announced when there is more data on the course of the pandemic. The goal remains one: for Greeks to be standing and healthy once the vaccine arrives, and from the spring of 2021 -with luck- to open a new phase for our country. The ICUs before the pandemic were 557, today there are more than 1,260 ICU beds operating," he added.
Greece recorded 2,018 new cases of COVID-19 in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
This raises the total number of cases to 99,306.
4,851 are considered to be related to travel from abroad and 25,924 are related to an already known case.
Six hundred and eight individuals are in ICU. Their median age is 66 years, and 166 of them are women. 80.8% have an underlying condition or are aged 70 years and above.
A total of 524 patients have been discharged from ICUs since the start of the pandemic in Greece.
The country’s pandemic death toll stands at 2,001. The median age of all was 80 years and 97.1% of the deceased had an underlying condition and/or age of 70 years or more.
Three covid-19 patients from Drama were airlifted to hospitals in Athens on Thursday, as ICU beds in the area reached full capacity.
The patients were transferred in a Hellenic Air Force C130 Hercules military aircraft in isolation capsules.
They were taken to Evangelismos, Sotiria and Attikon hospitals.