A 50-year-old Italian national who was paying a pilgrimage visit to Mount Athos showed symptoms of suspected COVID-19 and was taken to the Reference Center at AHEPA Hospital in Thessaloniki.
The incident took place yesterday at the Hilandar Monastery, where monks observed that the pilgrim was coughing and had a fever. The pilgrim was taken to the healthcare center in Karyes, and then he was transferred to AHEPA Hospital.
The competent bodies are tracing the contacts of the Italian pilgrim on Mount Athos, who had also the Zograf Monastery, according to ANA-MPA information from Karyes, in addition to the Hilandar Monastery, where about sixty, mainly of Serbian origin, monks live.
The Holy Community, the highest governing body of Mount Athos, recently discussed the possibility of closing Mount Athos to the pilgrims, but decided that this should not be done for “spiritual reasons”.
Source: ethnos.gr