Northern Greece – Crack of optimism for Omicron: Few hospitalizations despite sweeping cases
What do the data from the laboratory tests carried out by the First Laboratory of Microbiology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki show?
Its prevalence is sweeping Omicron variant in the community, however the Delta remains clearly dominant in hospitalizations in hospitals of Northern Greece.
According to the data from the laboratory tests performed by First Laboratory of Microbiology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in samples from the hospitals of Northern Greece, although Omicron is detected in four of the five cases that are detected, in the hospitals the percentage is exactly the opposite. “In the community we have an 80% Omicron percentage, however in hospitalizations it is about 20%, at least for now, while almost 100% in ICUs is Delta,” he told Voria.gr the associate professor of Microbiology at AUTh, Georgia Gioula.
The data seem to confirm the initial estimates that Omicron is causing less severe disease, something that, according to Ms. Gula, “remains to be seen in the near future.” The same, however, is evident from the picture that prevails during this period in the hospitals of Thessaloniki and the region, where the attendance of patients with suspicious symptoms has increased significantly, however only a small percentage is admitted for treatment. It is characteristic that the diagnostic tests performed in hospitals have more than tripled, with the majority of patients being positive. “The work has increased a lot from what we were used to. Every day we receive from 1,000 to 1,500 samples from hospitals in Northern Greece. “The previous period was around 300 to 400. And almost everything, of course, is positive,” said Ms. Gula.
However, compared to the previous period, imports show a small increase (60 on average compared to 50 before Christmas) in proportion to the exponential increase in the total number of cases. In addition, the pressure in the ICU is high, but without significant differences in the availability of beds.
Zero flu cases
The cases of the common flu, which are also controlled by the same laboratory of AUTh, are also zero so far. “We do not have a case of flu, which in Greece usually appears after January 15. I believe that at some percentage this year it will appear. “Maybe not to the extent it was in previous years, but not to the zero that it was last year, when we had quarantine,” said Ms. Giula, who stressed that the mandatory use of the mask outdoors will help prevent the spread of no. coronavirus alone, but also all respiratory viruses.