ATHENS – With vaccinations driving back the COVID-19 pandemic although far from hitting a 70 percent benchmark health authorities aimed for, the receding cases are also taking a big burden off overwhelmed Greek public hospitals.
They had seen Intensive Care Units (ICUs) filled and at one point the government said it would move to commandeer private hospitals but largely didn't do so although it recruited private doctors to the fight.
Health officials said they expect fewer than 1000 new coronavirus hospital admissions and about 60 new patient intubations the week of June 14, a dramatic drop in a relatively short period of time.
Data presented by Athens University’s Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Vana Papaevangelou, who is a member of the experts committee advising the government, and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology Gikas Magiorkinis, showed 6,500 cases confirmed in the previous week, half found through self tests.