The influence of two countervailing forces is what is now holding back the course of the epidemic in the country. On the one hand, the number of cases has remained steadily high, with 28,933 cases across the country yesterday. On the other hand, although the outbreak is evident, vaccination coverage in several areas is sufficient to the point of not disturbing the balance in hospitalizations, admissions and deaths.
Overall, however, since the first week of March there has been a 39% increase in new hospitalizations in simple covid beds. According to information from ygeiamou.gr and protothema.gr, yesterday broke the barrier of 500 admissions, reaching 507. Steadily increasing is also the trend of the total number of patients hospitalized in simple beds and in ICU, NICU, NICU and PICU beds, which amount to 3,492.
The reminder that the epidemic is a marathon that has not yet ended was pointed out by the Deputy Minister of Health, Asimina Ganga from the floor of the Parliament, stating that "clearly the coronavirus pandemic is not in remission, as we have 1000 more hospitalizations compared to the previous 10 days".
In light of this, the Ministry of Health's Expert Committee will meet to consider whether there is room for further relaxation of measures. It may be recalled that last Wednesday it had been decided to conduct one self-test a week (instead of two) on students and vaccinated teachers to ensure 100% occupancy in the stadium stands.
Crete: Vaccination dampens hospitalizations and deaths
Crete is a typical example of this contrast between the high prevalence of coronavirus and its minimal impact on "hard" indicators. The island's health structures have not been under pressure, even though, for example, Heraklion has recorded more than 1,000 cases daily for at least 15 days. It is significant that yesterday the total number of cases on the island reached 2,022, with 1,052 in the Heraklion Region alone.
Nevertheless, hospitalisations and deaths are moving at a moderate pace. Just yesterday, in all the island's hospitals, hospitalizations totaled 159. While on March 8 it was 169, at a time when the abolition of compulsory masks outdoors had not yet been implemented and Halloween gatherings had not yet affected the indicators.
The solution to the puzzle is provided by the vaccination coverage rate observed in Crete's PDs in relation to the percentage of the population that has already received the first dose: 70% in the PD of Chania, 68% in the PD of Rethymnon, 71% in the PD of Heraklion and 75% in the PD of Lassithi.
Trends in wastewater
The "decoupling" of hospitalizations and infections is further reinforced by the trends observed in wastewater in Crete. Overall, according to the results of the laboratory tests of the National Wastewater Epidemiology Network, increasing trends were observed, compared to the week 14 to 20 March 2022, in 8 of the 13 regions: in Attica (+41%), in Ioannina (+108%), but also in two regions of Crete: in Agios Nikolaos (+233%) and in Heraklion (+291%). On the other hand, there was a marginal increase in the other two major urban centres of the island, Rethymno (+13%) and Chania (+29%), but also in Patras (+20%) and Thessaloniki (+29%).
Finally, a clear downward trend was observed in Alexandroupolis (-36%) and Xanthi (-31%), while there was a marginal decrease in Larissa (-11%) and Volos (-10%).
Finally, a clear downward trend was observed in Alexandroupolis (-36%) and Xanthi (-31%), while there was a marginal decrease in Larissa (-11%) and Volos (-10%). The viral load in urban wastewater remained essentially stable in Corfu (-5%).
The regions "champions" in vaccination
Apart from vaccine-shielded Crete, other large urban centres, on the mainland or on the islands, have adequate vaccination coverage with the first dose. Starting from the north-west of the country, the PD of Arta at 72%, the PD of Preveza at 79%, the PD of Corfu at 77%, the PD of Kefalonia at 71%, the PD of Zakynthos at 80%, the PD of Ithaca at 71%, the PD of Thesprotia at 75% and the PD of Trikala at 72%.
On the other side, in the Aegean Sea, the Cyclades IP with a vaccination coverage of 84% with the first dose (in Mykonos even 95%), followed by the IPs of Thassos (73%), Lesvos (73%), Chios (76%), Samos (73%) and Rhodes (76%), followed by the IPs of Thassos (73%), Lesvos (73%), Chios (76%), Samos (73%) and Rhodes (76%).
Therefore, this good picture ensures that although a small increase in admissions and hospitalisations is expected, with the festive weekend of 25 March as a denominator, this load will not leave the course of the "hard" indicators unchecked.
Source: protothema.gr
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