Greece manages to keep COVID-19 deaths, infection low

ATHENS

Greece continues to manage to curb the coronavirus outbreak with a total of 105 deaths since the start of the pandemic and 2,205 cases in total, according to government figures released on Thursday.

A report by a Paris-based think tank said Turkey’s neighbor is the most successful among 10 major European countries in terms of “flattening the curve” of infections, seen as key to taming the virus.

The Bridge report said Greece’s decision to impose early strict and restrictive measures succeeded in slowing the virus’ spread.

Despite its past economic failures, the country responded promptly to the outbreak, and experts say it might be able to get back on track sooner than other countries.

Just before most European countries, the Greek government ordered the closure of schools, bars, cafes restaurants, nightclubs, gyms, malls, cinemas, retail stores, museums, archaeological sites, and hotels.

Media worldwide have been praising the country’s efforts, particularly French and Italian newspapers.

British daily The Guardian on Tuesday praised Greece for beating coronavirus despite a decade of debt, adding that hospitals “bore the brunt of cuts” but its efforts to contain Covid-19 appear to be paying off.

On Thursday Sotiris Tsiodras, the Health Ministry’s coronavirus spokesman, announced 15 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Greece in the last 24 hours, and three new deaths.

Total coronavirus infections in Greece stand at 2,207, while the death toll since the start of the outbreak is 105.

Of the 105, most had underlying health issues and their average age was over 70 years old.

Joel Ruet, the head of the Bridge, noted that four weeks after the first 100 cases were found, it took 19 days for the number of cases in Greece to double.

At the other end of the scale, the number of confirmed cases in Britain is still rising sharply.

In the study, Greece’s effectiveness against the virus was followed by the Czech Republic and Romania, while Italy, Spain, France, the U.K., the Netherlands, and Belgium are among the European countries worst hit.