High prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in repatriation flights to Greece from three European countries

Theodore Lytras; George Dellis; Anastasia Flountzi; Sophia Hatzianastasiou; Georgia Nikolopoulou; Katerina Tsekou; Zafiris Diamantis; Grigoria Stathopoulou; Marianthi Togka; Gerasimos Gerolymatos; George Rigakos; Spiridon Sapounas; Sotirios Tsiodras

doi:10.1093/jtm/taaa054

letter

. 2020 Apr 16:taaa054. doi: 10.1093/jtm/taaa054

High prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in repatriation flights to Greece from three European countries

Theodore Lytras ^1,^✉, George Dellis ¹, Anastasia Flountzi ¹, Sophia Hatzianastasiou ¹, Georgia Nikolopoulou ¹, Katerina Tsekou ¹, Zafiris Diamantis ¹, Grigoria Stathopoulou ¹, Marianthi Togka ¹, Gerasimos Gerolymatos ¹, George Rigakos ¹, Spiridon Sapounas ¹, Sotirios Tsiodras ^1,²

PMCID: PMC7184451 PMID: 32297940

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Passengers on repatriation flights to Greece from the UK, Spain and Turkey were screened with oropharyngeal swabs on arrival for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Despite almost all passengers being asymptomatic, many tested positive (3.6% from UK, 6.3% from Spain and 6.3% from Turkey), indicating widespread transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in these countries.

Keywords: COVID, pandemic, coronavirus, air travel, asymptomatic transmission, screening, real-time PCR

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High prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in repatriation flights to Greece from three European countries

Theodore Lytras, MD

George Dellis, BSc

Anastasia Flountzi, MD

Sophia Hatzianastasiou, MD

Georgia Nikolopoulou, MD

Katerina Tsekou, BSc

Zafiris Diamantis, MD

Grigoria Stathopoulou, BSc

Marianthi Togka, BSc

Gerasimos Gerolymatos, BSc

George Rigakos, MD

Spiridon Sapounas, MD

Sotirios Tsiodras, MD

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PERMALINK

High prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in repatriation flights to Greece from three European countries

Theodore Lytras, MD

George Dellis, BSc

Anastasia Flountzi, MD

Sophia Hatzianastasiou, MD

Georgia Nikolopoulou, MD

Katerina Tsekou, BSc

Zafiris Diamantis, MD

Grigoria Stathopoulou, BSc

Marianthi Togka, BSc

Gerasimos Gerolymatos, BSc

George Rigakos, MD

Spiridon Sapounas, MD

Sotirios Tsiodras, MD

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