Greece's new covid-19 infections and hospital admissions are continuing to rise, according to the latest figures.
On Wednesday, Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias appealed to the private sector, calling on doctors to do their part to help public hospitals and their staff cope with the pressure of rising Covid admissions.
“The health system across the country, but in Attica especially… is reaching its limits,” he said.
“We must all support the system; there is no such thing as private or public in this struggle; we are all in it together,” he added.
Πρέπει να πέσουν οι τόνοι, να μειωθεί η ένταση. Να συνυπολογίσουν όλοι την αξία της ανθρώπινης ζωής, της Δημόσιας Υγείας. Τις τελευταίες μέρες, σε κάθε εφημερία γεμίζει ένα Νοσοκομείο.
❗️Καλούμε τους ιδιώτες γιατρούς στο ΕΣΥ @gpatoulis
https://t.co/RTCBJHeVxe— Vassilis Kikilias (@Vkikilias) March 10, 2021
Admissions on Wednesday came to 476, pushing nationwide occupancy at regular Covid wards to just under 50% and at intensive care units to 67%.
The trend is rising, meanwhile, as Tuesday’s admissions were 443, Monday’s 390 and Sunday’s 337.
“In the past few days, we have seen the equivalent of a 200-bed hospital filling up with Covid-19 patients in a single emergency shift,” Kikilias said.
He also stated that 7.62% of the Greek population have received the first dose of the vaccine while 3.64% have been inoculated with both doses.
Latest covid-19 numbers in Greece
Greece recorded 2,633 new cases of COVID-19 in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
Those aged between 20 and 50 lead the current number of coronavirus infections.
This raises the total number of cases to 212,091.
Four hundred and seventy-nine individuals are in ICU. Their median age is 67 years. 85% have an underlying condition or are aged 70 years and above.
The number of new Covid-19 patients in hospitals in the last 24 hours is 443 (daily change: +13.59%), while the rolling average of hospital admissions in the last seven days is 389 patients.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,445 patients have been discharged from the ICU.
The country’s pandemic death toll stands at 6,886. The median age of all was 79 years and 95.8% of the deceased had an underlying condition and/or age of 70 years or more.
SMS 13033 for movement during lockdown
All individuals residing in Greece will be required to send an SMS text message to 13033 in order to obtain permission to leave their homes during the lockdown.
The SMS to 13033 should be formatted as follows: X (one of the digits 1-6 corresponding to the activities below), name, surname and address.
The six reasons (you must SMS) are:
- Visit to a pharmacy or visit to a doctor if necessary
- Visit to a supermarket or stores for essential supplies
- Visit to a bank if e-banking transactions are not possible
- Visit to people needing assistance or escorting children to and from school
- Attending a funeral, as per the conditions provided by the law, or visiting children in case of divorced parents
- Physical exercise outdoors or up to two persons taking their pet for a walk while always observing a 1.5-metre distance.
2-km radius
Individuals are not allowed to travel beyond 2 kilometres of their home to visit supermarkets, food stores and other essential goods shops or to go to the bank.
Similarly, personal exercise or pet walking must be carried out close to one’s home.
*More on GCT: Greece gives green light for over 65s to receive AstraZeneca vaccine
