Public hospital doctors in Greece stage protests demanding additional staff, more ICU beds

Public hospital doctors around Greece staged protests today to demand additional staff, more ICU beds, better protective equipment and mobilization of private clinics.

POLITICO reports that doctors’ union members, wearing masks and keeping the necessary distance, gathered outside their hospitals with banners that read “covered mouths still have [a] voice.” In one hospital in central Athens, there was tension when police tried to disperse the crowd, but eventually police allowed them to complete their protest.

Apart from several hospitals in Athens, similar protests took place in other cities throughout the county, from Serres in northern Greece to Crete in the south and Lesvos in the Aegean. There were a few dozen doctors and nurses gathered outside each hospital that took part in the protests.

Meanwhile, Greece’s Health Ministry announced on Tuesday two new deaths in the past 24 hours in the country which raised the total number to 81 since the start of the outbreak, while the great majority had underlying health issues and their average age was 74 years.

In his daily press briefing, ministry spokesman and infectious diseases professor Sotiris Tsiodras said 77 new cases were confirmed by health authorities. The total of Covid-19 infections in Greece stands at 1,832.

Of these, 501 infections relate to travelling abroad and 679 relate to people infected within Greece. He said 55 pct of the total number of patients are men.

Ninety patients remain intubated in intensive care units – unchanged from Monday – of which 72 percent have underlying health issues and have an age average of 66 years, he added.

Tsiodras said a total of 28,584 diagnostic lab tests have been carried out nationwide.

Via POLITICO / EKahtimerini