Th. Plevris: Free rapid test for the citizens and by the army

The Minister of Health, Thanos Plevris, announced a free rapid test with the contribution of the army. Mr. Plevris said that an additional 50 points will be added, to reach 100 the structures -along with those of EODY and NSS- in which the population can take free tests.

Rapid test by the army

The decision was made after a teleconference held yesterday between officials of the Ministries of Health and Defense.

Initially, the minister was given the impression that he was referring to free PCR tests, as he talked about the new 50 free test points when asked by reporters about the possibility of prescribing molecular tests to citizens.

However, the Ministry of Health issued a clarification according to which: “The Minister of Health Thanos Plevris in his interview in the First Program stated that in the coming days will be added with the contribution of the Ministry of National Defense but 50 points where RAPID TEST will be done”.

In his interview with Proto Program, he explained that in our country a model has been chosen that includes the free availability of many self-tests, many places to do free rapids and pcr, with the molecular test as all countries do, mainly related to confirmation disease and in the unvaccinated.

He revealed that 50 more points will be added nationwide for free tests by the Ministry of National Defense and a total of 100 points will be made together with the units of EODY and the hospitals, where free examinations are carried out. The points that will be announced in the coming days, will be located near camps, throughout the territory and it is not excluded that more will be added.

“When you are the first country in the diagnostics it means that you control the population much more and you have much more suspicious cases. We have chosen this because we consider them to be reliable methods and because we consider it very important especially in Omicron, which basically “In a younger population, it is a disease that does not pose a risk like other strains. It is more important for us to find them and bend the contagion than to consume an entire system in the full positivity of the many cases that are found,” he said.

Doctors’ orders

Referring to the doctors’ orders, he said: “The request for services from the 3rd and 4th RAE from Northern Greece and in the part of Athens and Piraeus has really started, we have asked the heads of the RAE, to indicate the needs that exist so that we are ready if necessary for ordering services “.

The peculiarity of the basin, he explained, is that because there is a close cooperation with the private clinics that have provided about 300 beds but also with some clinics that can not manage covid cases there is cooperation in order to provide their staff for the public system. , the wish of the ministry is not to have this necessity in the basin, however the needs must be made known. “It is on the table, but it will also depend on the course of cooperation with private clinics,” said Mr. Plevris.

He added that there are many tickets at the moment and they mainly concern simple beds. Moreover, in patients with Omicron, their hospitalization time is relatively short, about 5 days, so there are many discharges. It seems, then, that within the next 10 days, 15 days, there will be a balance of tickets-tickets, according to the Minister of Health.

“We came to a partnership with the big groups because they are structures that can support large supplies of oxygen needed for covid cases, so we have made an agreement there for 10% beds which can go to 15%. From the smaller clinics which is the second federation we have agreed and their structures are being monitored, in which of them there can be support and where there can not be, we will take part of the staff that will be able to open an additional 100-150 beds in the public system that they do not work now “.

“The biggest pressure we will receive is what cases of those who are hospitalized may need ICUs, where the possibilities have been exhausted, that is, there can not be more than the 1300 we have. While Omicron has not given cases so far. ICU, but at the moment there is still Delta, which concerns 50% of the hospitalizations “, noted Mr. Plevris.

At 600-700 tickets a day, half are Delta

He confirmed that the Delta is reduced in the community by less than 20% and may disappear, however, and from this 15% end up in hospitalizations, he pointed out.

“At 600-700 tickets a day, about half are Delta. These few diseases from Delta are much more intense and much more pressing for the system. We believe that as long as Omicron prevails respectively, the hospitalizations will go in this context. “Therefore, it is estimated that around January 25, the de-escalation of hospitalizations will begin.”

For the strike at Pentelis Children’s Hospital

“I understand the objections, but let’s see to what extent they are valid. The Pentelis Children’s Hospital was on duty morning and night every Monday and Thursday together with another pediatric hospital.

Because we wanted to increase the vaccination lines and for these children they can only be in hospitals, it was chosen to increase these lines to 13, because we want to have full coverage of the vaccinations by February 10 and the only concession that was made and will be suffer our fellow citizens who live in the north, it is not for its daily operation and morning shifts, it will be Monday and Thursday that was on duty, for 35 days, which means that 8 to 10 night shifts will not be in Pentelis Children to do vaccinations and will be given elsewhere.

It is temporary, from 4 to 6 weeks, to be completed based on the demand of the vaccination coverage and to return to normal on duty. I wish we were in agreement, but the fact that vaccinations are taking place today and there was a risk due to the strike that parents with their children would go to be vaccinated and could not, so we proceeded to legal action in order to declare it illegal and the strike is abusive. ”

What applies to vaccinated and vaccination and disease certificates

He clarified, finally, that for those vaccinated with 2 doses, as there is an obligation for the third dose, in case of illness, after its end, the citizen will have the 3-month disease certificate, to proceed after the expiration of the vaccination with booster dose. “That is, whoever has taken 2 doses and is ill, will delay the vaccination with the third dose for the duration of the disease certificate. .