Most Greeks abide by partial lockdown, over one million SMSs daily for permission to leave home

The rate of transmission of the coronavirus in Greece remains considerably  slower than  in Italy or Spain, health ministry coronavirus spokesman and infectious diseases professor Sotiris Tsiodras said at his daily, nationally televised news conference  today.

He warned that this could change swiftly  if the partial lockdown measures restricting freedom of movement are lifted.

Tsiodras said that lifting the measures would be 'disastrous' as the incidence has not peaked yet.

«We must continue to be vigilant even though we do not see an exponential increase in infections in Greece,» he stressed.

Rare covid-19 complication kills 42-year-old German in Crete

Tsiodras cited the case of a young German professor who died in Crete from Covid-19 without having any underlying health issues.

Health experts in Greece and internationally are underlining that an increasing number of cases involve patients in lower age brackets, including the death of a 17-year-old boy in California which has been attributed to covid-19.

He noted that the cause of the 42-year-old German national's death is a rare covid-19 complication - thrombosis in the vessels of the lungs requiring anticoagulation.

Regarding whether a person can build immunity to the virus Tsiodras cited a projection that those who have formed antibodies will be immune for at least two or three years.

Death toll rises to 26 with 71 new cases

The health ministry spokesman announced 71 new cases of covid-19 in Greece in the last 24 hours and four more deaths, bringing the country's total number of cases to 892 and the total number of deaths to 26.

Of those who died, 21 were men and five were women with an...

Continue reading on: