The new laboratory-confirmed cases of the disease recorded in the last 24 hours are 19,154, of which 64 were detected following checks at the country's entry gates. The total number of cases is 2,129,153 (daily change +0.9%), of which 49.7% are males. Based on the confirmed cases in the last 7 days, 396 are considered to be associated with travel from abroad and 2,236 are associated with an already known case.

The new deaths of patients with COVID-19 are 93, with a total of 24,507 deaths recorded since the start of the epidemic. 95.1% had underlying disease and/or age 70 years or older.

The number of hospitalized intubated patients is 516 (62% men). Their median age is 65 years. 84.7% have an underlying disease and/or age 70 years or older. Among intubated patients, 396 (76,74%) are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and 120 (23,26%) are fully vaccinated. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 4,122 patients have been discharged from ICUs.

The admissions of new Covid-19 patients to hospitals in the territory are 493 (daily change +11.79%). The seven-day average admission rate is 443 patients. The median age of cases is 35 years (range 0.2 to 106 years), while the median age of deaths is 79 years (range 0.2 to 106 years).

The Omicron variant now dominates the territory

The National Genomic Surveillance Network for SARS-CoV-2, which operates under the coordination of the HODC, has completed the genomic analysis of 1,725 samples selected randomly or targeted and covering the period 23 December 2021 to 31 January 2022. From the screening of the 1,725 samples, a total of 1,589 samples with Variants Of Concern (VOC) strains were identified. Of the 1,589 samples with VOCs of concern, 1,425 samples are related to the Omicron strain and 164 samples are related to Delta. Four of the 164 Delta strains are related to strain AF.4.2 and were detected in the Regional Units of East Attica (1), North Athens (1), Lesvos (1) and Piraeus (1). Twenty-nine (29) of the 1 425 Omicron strains relate to strain BA.2, which were detected in twenty-one domestic outbreaks in the Regional Units of Arta (1), North Sector Athens (1), West Sector Athens (2), Heraklion (3), Central Sector Athens (8), Lasithi (4), Milos (1) and South Sector Athens (1) and in eight imported outbreaks in the Regional Units of Arta (1), North Sector Athens (1), West Sector Athens (2), Heraklion (3), Central Sector Athens (8), Lasithi (4), Milos (1) and South Sector Athens (1) and in eight imported outbreaks.

Since the launch of the National Genomic Surveillance Network for SARS-CoV-2, a total of 47,571 samples from domestic cases have been tested in the country. Of these, 43,007 are from random sample selection, 3,823 are from targeted sampling or sample selection and for 741 samples the selection method is not available. During the two months prior to 31 January 2022, a total of 8,389 samples from domestic cases had been tested in the territory. Of these, 8,097 were from random sample selection and 292 were from targeted sample collection or selection. Among the 8,097 randomly selected samples in the territory for the two months prior to 31 January 2022, the two most frequently isolated strains of special interest are Delta with a rate of 55,92%, followed by Omicron with a rate of 44,07%. Among the 292 samples taken or targeted during the two months prior to 31 Jan 2022, 69,86% are related to the Omicron strain and 30,14% to the Delta strain. In addition, a total of 634 strains of special interest or under surveillance or of interest have been isolated from samples of imported outbreaks, of which 335 in Delta, 165 in Omicron, 113 in Alpha, 7 in Mu, 6 in Beta, 4 in B.1.1.318 (Variant E484K), 1 in Eta, 1 in C.36, 1 in Kappa and 1 in B.1.1 (Variant E484K).