The country is in a fragile field when it comes to the epidemic as the new cases of coronavirus have been shrinking in recent days, but with the anxiety and concern of experts following exactly the opposite course, on the one hand because of the uncertain outcome of the epidemic, and on the other because of the pressure on the health system from the hundreds of new patients admitted to hospitals every day.
It is significant that 24,246 positive cases of coronavirus were recorded yesterday, compared with 46,000 on Wednesday 5 January. In the meantime, the number of cases has been decreasing. In hospitals, again, more than 600 patients with covid infection were admitted to hospital yesterday, with a total of 5,100 inpatients.
Over the next 10 days, scientists will expect to see the progression of the reduction in new confirmed infections now being recorded. If the decline in cases continues, then they will know that the surge has already reached its peak and a withdrawal is being recorded, otherwise they will wait for another week or two for the epidemic to peak.
At this stage, however, they point out that it is premature to make any firm assessment of a de-escalation of the epidemic wave raised by the Omicron mutation. For this reason, and following the recommendation of the Committee of Experts of the Ministry of Health, it was decided to extend the existing framework of measures with the restrictions as they are currently in force for an additional week, i.e. until 24 January.
The good scenario is that the cases will continue to decrease and we will see a de-escalation. The less good scenario is that there is a change in the course of the epidemic and cases increase again. It has happened in other countries that cases fall and then rise. In any case, because we are in the heart of winter and we still have a considerable way to go, but also because we are faced with a new, largely uncharted, mutation, a new epidemic outbreak of Omicron cannot be ruled out, says protothema.gr, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Athens Medical School and member of the Expert Committee, Mr. Dimitris Paraskevis. There had been a relaxation of measures before Christmas and the long chain of transmission from younger people had begun to build up. So we got to the point where every home had at least one positive in the corona between Christmas and New Year's Day. That probably changed the situation. A lot of people have gotten sick, contacts have been very limited, too many tests have been done. These are probably now reflected in the epidemiological picture of the country, says Mr Friday. He adds that it all depends on the attitude and behaviour of society. As long as we are all careful to observe the measures, the picture will improve. If the measures are lifted and we all start going out without being careful, wearing masks where necessary, keeping our distance, outbreaks are possible.
The pressure on the NHS is constant. Yesterday the intubated 'climbed' to 670 and new admissions for Tuesday showed a 31.6% increase on the previous day. Before the holidays, the traffic in ICUs had subsided. The last three days have seen a slight increase. It is still not alarming. We don't see the big increase in ordinary COvid beds putting a strain on the units yet, says Friday.
Source: Proto Thema
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