Few Covid-19 cases at assisted living facilities

Part of Greece's success to date in containing the spread of the new coronavirus includes a very small rate of cases at assisted living facilities for the elderly compared to high rates of cases and deaths at retirement homes in other European countries.

With the exception of a retirement home in Nea Makri, eastern Attica, which was quarantined in the middle of last month after 10 residents and two staff members tested positive for Covid-19, Greece has seen very few similar cases.

Mobile units of the National Organization for Public Health (EODY) have carried out some 7,500 diagnostic tests on residents at 240 retirement homes around the country, with the results for half those tests pointing to just two cases of infection.

In comments to Kathimerini, EODY's vice president Giorgos Panagiotakopoulos said the low level of infections was encouraging but warned...