The Guardian’s Helena Smith has reported that Greece is “formally” in the midst of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, according to an interview she had with one of the country’s top epidemiologists, who is also an advisor to the government on the Coronavirus pandemic.
“We can say that Greece has formally entered a second wave of the epidemic. This is the point that we could win or lose the battle,” Gkikas Magiorkinis, assistant professor of hygiene and epidemiology at Athens university told Smith, the Athens correspondent for the UK’s The Guardian.
Magiorkinis is among the medical experts advising the Greek government.
According to the interview, he said cases could climb to 350 a day if the “dramatic increase” continued unabated.
Seven straight days of triple-digit infections led to a new round of strict measures throughout Greece, including mandatory midnight closures of bars and nightclubs at many tourist destinations and the cancellation of religious processions, popular around the August 15th celebrations commemorating the falling asleep of the Virgin Mary.
Tourism has partly played a role for the sudden increase but isn’t the major factor, according to the doctor.
Echoing numerous government officials, Magiorkinis attributed the resurgence mostly to lax observance of hygiene protocols by Greeks particularly younger generations who have flooded bars and beaches in recent weeks.
