Dozens of doctors and nurses working in Greece’s public hospital have tested positive for coronavirus, and some 300 members of medical staff are in home isolation, following a shortage of hygiene products.
Mr Michalis Giannakos, President of Greece’s Union for Hospital Workers POEDIN, said a total of 48 doctors tested positive for COVID-19 overnight, with many clinics closing down to be disinfected and patients being transferred to other hospitals as a result.
“We are decimated. If masks do not come, there will be many losses,” Mr Giannakos said.
“Hospital doctors have been complaining for days that protective measures have not been taken for both the medical and nursing sectors.”
Greek Health Ministry spokesman, Sotiris Tsiodras, concurred with the union president and said some medical staff had been infected after coming in contact with infected patients ‘without the necessary protection measures.’
“Health care personnel are at the forefront of the health system,” Mr Tsiodras said.
“If they’ve come in contact with an infected person, they will be put in a 7 day, and not a 14 day, quarantine in order not to weaken the health system. And they will return to hospitals even if they need to work with a mask, taking the necessary safety measures.”
This decision comes after Greece’s confirmed cases of coronavirus rose to 418 last night.
