Coronavirus: Scientists taken aback by surge in numbers

Scientists were taken aback by the sudden spike in infections on Friday but could not immediately explain the reason, member of the government advisory committee Petros Karayiannis said on Saturday.

Karayiannis said the high number of tests, 59,144, could not explain the 705 new cases recorded on Friday either. The number of new infections the previous day was 309.

School screenings yielded 34 cases but there was a steep spike in infections among close contacts of previously confirmed cases — 317 from 1,494 samples.

Karayiannis said close to one in five of the samples from contact tracing was positive. He expressed hope it would not be something permanent despite scientists expecting an uptick because of the easing of restrictions.

He urged people to follow the protocols, especially those who were positive but failed to stay home for the duration of the mandatory quarantine.

“Unfortunately, there are these people who do not realise the danger they are putting the entire country in,” Karayiannis said.

He said the decision regarding the lift in restrictions will apply until the end of the month, but it will be reviewed if the situation worsens.

Karayiannis also urged people to vaccinate against the virus, noting that the results were already visible.

He said care homes were no longer a problem and the elderly people who died from the virus had not been vaccinated.

“The vaccine coverage must continue. We think 30 per cent to 35 per cent will act as an inhibitor to a large extent but what countries want is to reach around 70 per cent to achieve a marked drop in infections,” he said.

He sought to allay concerns regarding the AstraZeneca jab, suggesting certain decisions by big countries were causing confusion.

“First, they said they would not vaccinate people over 65, now they have changed it, Germany, Holland, and Canada say they won’t vaccinate those under 65. These are decisions that confuse the people, that give the wrong message at the moment when we want people to vaccinate.”