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In August, it is estimated that the BA2.75 covid varient, nicknmed as “Centauros” will also be in Greece, without experts ruling out his arrival, due to the tourist season and mobility.
“We may face this mutation wave, but we will see it in our country at least after two months. It’s not worrisome in the sense of gravity, but it is worrisome in the sense of transmissibility.”
The increase in cases in Zakynthos remains worrying
Regarding the epidemiological picture on the island and the increase in cases, he noted “We continue to have a high number of positive cases and we will for a long time. The period of increased incidents is being extended and the recession we expected at the end of July is going back. If August has increased cases and the Centauros comes at the end of it, there will be a new explosive mixture.”
Regarding the weekly update of the EODY, he explained that the average shows that Zakynthos has more than 100 cases daily, however the consolation is that most are mildly ill. “We were expecting the end of July to reach numerically controllable points with Omicron, but it doesn’t seem to be happening. The update from EODY is no longer daily and based on the weekly statistics we had for Zakynthos, the active cases were around 1,800 which gives us a daily average of over 100 cases. It’s a very large number. The consolation is that compared to the large number of positive cases, there are still few hospitalizations. We don’t have a similar scary increase. We have a normal flow of cases and the cases that are hospitalized are not considered too serious. No one had to be intubated.”
Hospitalizations
Twelve people are hospitalized these days at the Hospital’s Covid clinic, however, as noted by the president of the Infections Committee, their state of health is not alarming. “At the moment 12 people are hospitalized. Elderly people are usually hospitalized and need to stay in the hospital to monitor all the health problems they face. A 75-year-old patient who has cardiac or respiratory problems and contracts the coronavirus may take longer to be admitted to the hospital, because other problems must also be taken into account.”
Adherence to the measures is necessary
For the social events that are increased in the summer months, he stressed that measures should be followed as much as possible and noted that a test before someone goes to a gathering is always a good practice. “We have to observe the measures. It is summer, but we must observe personal protection measures and wear a mask where necessary, avoid crowded gatherings or when it is going to happen do a self or rapid test so that we know that we are not at risk and will not transmit the coronavirus. If the person next to us does it, he will also protect us.”
The course of the epidemic in the next two months
The possibility that the “Centauros” prevails against the BA.4 and BA.5 strains and triggers a new outbreak in September or even earlier remains open for scientists, according to what protothema.gr reports. In the same report, it is noted that “at this stage, however, the sixth wave of coronavirus that has spread in the country since mid-June continues to move upwards, but at a lower speed compared to previous weeks. In fact, some early data show a small stabilization in the areas where the wave had initially risen, namely in Attica, Crete and the Ionian and Aegean islands.
However, the de-escalation is not expected to be short, as what happened with the original Omicron last January in our country. “In fact, given the conditions now prevailing in the summer months, with the mobility due to the holidays peaking, but also with the sanitary measures in force that do not necessarily include the mask, it is certain that the de-escalation will take place at a very slow pace and will reach until the end of August”, estimates Mr. Tzanakis. Of course, this could have another reading: if personal protection and hygiene measures against the coronavirus were widely applied by the citizens, the period of de-escalation of the cases would shrink.
According to the professor’s epidemiological models, the cases in August will range from 10,000 to 15,000 per day and those intubated will not exceed 135-140. “Based on the course of the epidemic so far in our country and in the other countries where the wave has preceded, and as long as there is no reversal with another mutation, we can hope that we will have a milder September,” says Mr. Tzanakis.
Professor Mr. Paraskevis expresses the same assessment: “In the current period, the reproduction rate of the infection is high. Those who get infected strengthen the immune wall which, as we have seen, shows significant gaps after a few months. With so many hundreds of thousands of infections in recent weeks, the immune wall will probably be able to contain a new epidemic outbreak in the next quarter.”
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Source in Greek and photo:- https://www.imerazante.gr/
