High-risk groups getting molnupiravir pills for Covid-19 as of next week

Approval for the pill's use will be given within 24 hours after a doctor files online for it, Gaga said, and both the doctor and the patient will be notified by a text message. Following the patient's consent, also online, molnupiravir will be delivered at at home. Pregnant women will not be prescribed this medication, she noted.

At the briefing, member of the Health Ministry's Covid committee Vana Papaevangelou said that new coronavirus infections rates are stabilizing in all regions of Greece except Thrace and some islands, but active infections are very high, at 150,000 cases. The daily average of new infections over the last 7 days is 18,000, she added.

A 57% of regular Covid hospital beds are currently occupied in the country's national health system, while75% of beds are occupied in intensive care units. Hospital admissions have dropped 12%, while 8 in 10 patients are now infected with the Omicron variant, Papaevangelou said.