ATHENS – With attention focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the effects on an economic recovery, the COVID-19 pandemic is still proving dangerous and deadly in Greece, including for the young.

Nearly a third of those infected were 4-18 years old, although almost all the deaths were of the unvaccinated elderly and those with multiple or underlying conditions although the vaccination program has pushed back the pandemic.

Figures from the National Organization for Public Health (EODY) showed that there were 30,899 cases of COVID from Feb. 26-March 6 and that there was a positivity rate of 5.31 percent found among 1,945,947 molecular tests.

There were also another 1,982 patients admitted to hospitals but there were 2,015 COVID cases released, in a further encouraging sign and hope that the beginning of the end might be in sight this year, the pandemic’s third.

There were 23,335 cases on March 9 and 61 virus-related deaths, said Kathimerini, reporting that there were 360 patients on ventilators in public hospital Intensive Care Units (ICUs) with the numbers now beginning to slow.