Dozens of hospital workers held protests at hospitals in Greece, demanding more medical staff be hired as the country struggles to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus that has led to a new lockdown being imposed.
An increase in the number of people seriously ill with coronavirus has brought the country’s health system under increasing pressure. As of Wednesday night, Greece had a total of 1,104 intensive care unit beds, of which 496 were set aside for coronavirus patients. Of those, 335 are already occupied.
The government has stressed it has massively increased intensive care capacity, noting there were a total of just over 500 ICU beds in Greece when it came to power after elections in mid-2019.-AP
Health workers take part in a protest at Evangelismos hospital in Athens, Thursday. State health workers' union staged protests at several hospitals around the country to demand more hiring.