Holiday island of Mykonos reports first Covid-19 case
Authorities on the popular Greek holiday island of Mykonos were scrambling on Thursday to discover how a 69-year-old resident contracted the novel coronavirus and to trace everyone she may have come into contact with in order to contain its spread.
Greek media on Thursday reported that the woman, a resident of the village of Ano Mera, started presenting symptoms of a lower respiratory tract infection about 10 days ago and was advised by her doctor to self-isolate. Her condition worsened several days later and she was put in an isolated container room at the island’s medical center, where she was tested for Covid-19 on Wednesday afternoon. The unnamed woman is being transferred to Athens, where hospitals equipped to deal with the disease. Her condition is described as “serious” by local media on Mykonos.
The incident has caused widespread concern on the island, which lacks the infrastructure to manage an outbreak, after the 69-year-old could not explain how she may have contracted the virus, as she had not traveled abroad recently nor come into contact with anyone else who showed symptoms of Covid-19.
“We are dealing with this particular incident calmly and responsibly and, after wishing the patient a swift recovery, would like to stress that we must all implement measures to protect ourselves and to abide by measures restricting movement,” Mykonos Mayor Konstantinos Koukas was quoted by the Cyclades 24 website as saying in a statement.
