The number of COVID-19 cases in Greece that has quadrupled daily in the past two months could hit the 2,000 marks for a 24-hour period as soon as the weekend of Oct. 31-Nov. 1, showing it’s almost out of control, a microbiologist on the government’s scientific advisory team said.
West Attica University Professor Alakiviadis Vatopoulos told SKAI TV that new daily infections appear to be doubling on a weekly to the 10-day basis, jumping from around 400 at the start of the month to 800 and 1,547 on Oct. 28, a record.
The government is said to be ready to impose localized lockdowns to try to slow the spread of the Coronavirus but the 2,000-daily mark could shift toward another shutdown of non-essential businesses.
Equally worrying, said Vatopoulos, is that the average age of those being infected is falling fast because many young won’t wear masks or stay safe social distances from each other and have taken to partying and going to clubs.
He said the pandemic could get worse fast and see not just a soaring number of cases but of deaths and people needing to be put on ventilators in hospital Intensive Care Units (ICU’s) starting to be stressed although beefed up.
The elderly and those with underlying or multiple conditions are still the most susceptible and the spread of the virus by the young could put them at even more risk despite more health restrictions including mandatory mask-wearing.
“As a doctor, I would say to shut everything down, but I understand that it’s a tough decision,” Vatopoulos said in response to a question about the possibility of a lockdown that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is trying to avoid to prevent another blow to the already staggering economy.
An early lockdown on March 23 that lasted up to 10 weeks for many non-essential businesses has seen many closed for good and others on the edge because of restrictions on customers and now with curfews and earlier closing times in the hardest-hit regions across the country.
Read more at thenationalherald.com
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