University of Thessaloniki

Christos Sartzetakis, born in 1929, passed away today at the age of 93 after a long hospitalization.

He was born in Neapoli, Thessaloniki in 1929. His father, who was serving as a Gendarmerie officer in Thessaloniki - where he met his mother - was a Cretan, having been born in Kandanos, Chania, while his mother, who was born in Sklithro, Florina, was a Greek Macedonian.

University of Thessaloniki Professor of Environmental Engineering Dimosthenis Sarigiannis is projecting that the peak of the current surge of the COVID-19 epidemic will be around 17 December.

"The environment will be difficult at Christmas," he said, with more than a touch of understatement.

Even as hospitals are writhing under the enormous weight of the surge of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic Greek experts are expect yet another surge around Christmas, with an exceptionally high death toll, number of intubated patients, and number of new infections.

The situation at public hospitals (the only one that treat COVID-19 patients), with rough shifts of even 36 hours for exhausted hospital doctors and patients being treated on cots in corridors, has raised a series of issues that must be urgently addressed in order to avert a collapse of Greece's National Health System (NHS).

The situation at public hospitals (the only one that treat COVID-19 patients), with rough shifts of even 36 hours for exhausted hospital doctors and patients being treated on cots in corridors, has raised a series of issues that must be urgently addressed in order to avert a collapse of Greece's National Health System (NHS).

By George Gilson

Those who are at all familiar with the Eastern Orthodox Church are well aware that Archbishop Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis) of America long before becoming leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in the US was one of its most eminent and respected hierarchs.

There was a slight increase in the SARS-CoV-2 viral load in Thessaloniki's sewage, which has been measured daily for the past week, according to an announcement by the research team conducting the study on Saturday. 

A strong earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, according to initial reports, at approximately 2:13pm shook the Greek capital for approximately 15 seconds.

The first reports from seismologists indicated that that the epicentre was four kilometres from Magoula, 23 kilometres northwest of Athens.

Margaritis Schinas, who until now had served as chief spokesman of the European Commission under Jean-Claude Juncker, has been tapped by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to serve as Greece's next representative on the European Commission.

Just two days ago was the birthday of the late Xenophon Zolotas, the patrician economist of international repute, university professor, thrice governor of the central Bank of Greece, and the prime minister of an ecumenical multi-party government in the tumultuous late 1980's

He is widely viewed as one of the most prominent Greek academics and public intellectuals of the 20th century.