Suspect virus eases, but hits tourism
The viral infection that prompted the government to close all educational establishments from Wednesday onward appeared to be in decline yesterday, with only five new cases of myocarditis or perimyocarditis being reported in the previous 24 hours. This was down from seven on Wednesday and 13 on Tuesday. «The numbers are dropping,» Health Minister Alekos Papadopoulos said. «If this continues tomorrow as well, it is most likely that we will call an end to the special preventive measures.» Of the 36 people reported to be suffering from inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) and the surrounding membrane (perimyocarditis), 14 had left the hospital yesterday, 19 were due to be released soon and three were in stable condition. Another three have died. Even though things appeared to be improving on this front, a new one opened because of the reports of another epidemic, this one concerning the country’s tourism. Cyprus on Wednesday suspended school trips to Greece. Also Wednesday, a warning appeared on the German Foreign Ministry’s website noting the measures in place in Greece, although it stressed that the government was not in any way advising citizens not to visit Greece. Yugoslav authorities decided to cancel school trips to Greece and the citizens of other countries were also reported to be canceling visits. The Hoteliers’ Association of Iraklion on Crete and the Cretan Travel Agents’ Association warned that they might file charges against everyone involved in spreading panic. Others charged that the government was sorely lacking in communications skills in dealing with a problem affecting the tourism industry. Papadopoulos said that Greece was safe for visitors and that international health authorities had been informed that the measures taken were «extremely preventative.» He said that the virus suspected of causing the problem would be identified «today or tomorrow.» It is suspected of being the coxsackie virus – which causes flu-like symptoms but can lead to heart inflammations.
