⇤ OECD Survey on the STI policy responses to Covid-19

 

Greece


Updated on: 2020-05-07

Response
Q1A. What arrangements, if any, do you have in place to ensure scientific advice informs national policy and decision making in relation to Covid-19? Covid-19 relevant activities are coordinated by an inter-ministerial Committee, headed by the Vice Minister for Civil Protection and Crisis Management. Others participating in the Committee include representatives of the Prime Minister's Cabinet, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Health, the General Secretariat of Civil Protection, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Development and Investments.

As far as scientific advice is concerned, an Expert Committee has been established under the authority of the Ministry of Health, comprising immunologists, epidemiologists, experts on infectious diseases, statisticians and mathematicians.
Q1B. In what ways, if any, are you coordinating on Covid-19 STI responses at international level? Greece participates to the relevant activities and organs of the European Union, the World Health Organization and other international organizations.

The Greek Government has nominated as official representative to the International Organizations for coronavirus issues, Professor Elias Mossialos, (Head of Department of Health Policy and Director of LSE Health at the London School of Economics).
Q2.Do you have dedicated arrangements in place for communicating science advice and for refuting misleading information to the public on Covid-19? Official information and scientific advice to the public is delivered daily from the mass media. Facts, data, scientific information (including alerts on fake news and rumors), measures and recommendations are provided by the Chair of the Expert Committee (see responses to Question 1), Professor Sotiris Tsiodras (University of Athens, Medical School), the representatives of the General Secretariat of Civil Protection, and other representatives of the Greek Government. There is considerable social pressure, raised through social media, to silence divergent opinions contradicting mainstream government policy and proposing different approaches to management of the outbreak. Similarly, the electronic marketing of products promoted as protecting from the virus is socially condemned. Αll the political spectrum stands behind this government action.

Citizens can also get sound information and guidance directly from the National Public Health Organization (Ministry of Health) (https://eody.gov.gr/neos-koronaios-covid...) through a 24-hour available phone line.
Q3. What new STI policy measures, if any, is your country taking to respond specifically to the Covid-19 crisis? In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the General Secretariat for Research and Technology of Greece launched a Flagship Research Action entitled “Epidemiological study in Greece through extensive testing for virus and antibody detection, viral genome sequencing and genetic analysis of patients, in response to the SARS-CoV-2 crisis”.

The Action is expected is expected to provide answers to the following questions:
1. Given the global spread of the virus and the possible shortage of reagents, will Greece be able to respond successfully to the increased demand for virus detection tests as well as antibody tests, particularly as containment measures are gradually lifted?
2. Despite identification of high-risk groups (seniors and people with underlying conditions), predictability of outcome for individual patients remains relatively low. Are there factors like genetic susceptibility which could help in this regard?
3. Which are the transmission patterns of the virus and which are the predominant virus strains among the Greek population?
4. Which will be the immunity levels of the population and of each patient after the pandemic?

The Action will be implemented by four (4) higher education institutions and six (6) research centres. Greek research centres and university laboratories, working together with the medical community, have the privilege to be ideally positioned, at international level, to conduct this study, which is expected not only to have a direct impact within Greece in the immediate future, but also to put Greece at the vanguard of global advances in understanding and tackling SARS-CoV-2.

The Flagship Research Action has a pubic budget of € 2.475 m under National Public Investments Programme.

More detailed information about the Flagship Action is given in the following link:
gsrt.gr/central.aspx?sId=124I458I1163I323I509672&olID=777&neID=589&neTa=1_122365&ncID=0&neHC=0&tbid=0&lrID=2&oldUIID=aI777I0I119I428I1089I0I3&actionID=load

Further initiatives undertaken by Greek Research organizations are as follows:

1) Testing for the virus is done by the Hellenic Pasteur Institute (https://www.pasteur.gr), the national COVid-19 Reference Centre. Testing is up until now limited to those with serious symptoms. It is not possible to extend testing to the symptom-free population, mainly due to shortages in reagents and essential consumables. Epidemiological data are stored for all samples. However, it is still early days for concrete epidemiological studies.

2) Several Greek public Research Centers and Universities have joined forces to contribute to the national effort to broaden testing of the population under an initiative of the National Council for Research & Innovation and the National Public Health Organization. This plan has not been fully implemented yet until all biosafety requirements are met and all controls are completed. As a first phase, the plan includes the Laboratory of Hygiene and Epidemiology of the University of Athens (https://dehems.med.uoa.gr), the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (https://www.bioacademy.gr/) and the Institute of Applied Biosciences at the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (https://www.inab.certh.gr/). Further research entities are also appropriately equipped in order to detect SARS-COV-2 by real time PCR, such as, for example, the Institute for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH) (https://www.imbb.forth.gr/). The latter has also developed an innovative technology based on biosensors for the direct detection of virus particles of SARS-COV-2. They are in consultation with the Reference Centre of the Pasteur Institute in order to perform tests. A spin-off company has been created by FORTH for the next steps and exploitation of research results.

3) There are important research activities in the field of biology of viruses (among them the family of coronaviruses) along with the reaction of the human immune system to viral infections. Such research is mostly undertaken at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology / FORTH, but also at the other biomedical research Institutes. Substantial work is also being done in the field of epidemiological modelling of the virus spread dynamics with mathematical and computer models.

4) On treatment for COVID-19, Greece is already implementing a strategy of drug-repositioning / re-purposing for already approved drugs. Several research groups along with enterprises are working in this field.
Q4A. At national level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? No specific mechanisms are in place so far. Coordination is under the responsibility of the Inter-ministerial Committee (see answers to question 1).
Q4B. At international level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? At the European level, as for the priorities for EU coordinated R&I action for COVID19, we support the initiatives and actions taken by the European Commission, especially on vaccines and treatment. We welcome the dedicated call of the Health Program with a budget of 47,5 M€.
Q5. What novel approaches, if any, is your country using to address the coronavirus crisis (e.g. use of machine learning, open science initiatives boosting access and sharing of data and research results, development and use of prediction models, etc.)? A detailed analysis of the most important R&D activities related to COVID 19 in the Greek research centers and Universities is given below:

HELLENIC PASTEUR INSTITUTE
The Hellenic Pasteur Institute (HPI) - recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), a member of the European Reference Laboratory Network for Human Influenza (ECDCERLI-Net) and a member of the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS-WHO) - has been designated as National Reference Center for SARS-CoV-2 detection.
In the context of its mission to promote scientific knowledge and innovation, HPI has launched research studies seeking to understand the mode of action, pathogenetic mechanisms and epidemiology of this novel coronavirus, and develop new diagnostic tools and treatment methods.
Building on the well-established know-how and experience on infectious diseases of its internationally renowned research departments of Microbiology, Immunology and Neurobiology, and Reference Laboratories for infectious diseases, the HPI has planned the following actions:
1. Banking of clinical samples from patients infected with SARS- CoV-2 (use and further development of existing bank).
2. Development, modelling and certification of antibody detection tests for SARS-CoV-2 to monitor buildup of immunity in the population and the factors having an influence on it; isolation and identification of neutralizing antibodies from patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and development of diagnostic methodologies, e.g. seroneutralisation, to detect specific immunity. For this Action, the HPI will collaborate closely with the Pasteur Institute in Paris, a globally recognized leader in infectious diseases research.
3. Study of the virological profile, and investigation for presence of defective SARS-CoV-2 forms in serum samples or smears from recovered or deceased patients. This action is expected to contribute to the laboratory assessment of disease outcome in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients.
4. Study of SARS-CoV-2 patients’ immune response using traditional immunological methods as well as next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. There are already experimental data that SARS-CoV-2 triggers a specific immune response, which differs from that of other related viruses. Viral infection has dramatic effects on the gene expression profile, primarily of immune-system cells. This HPI projects aims at developing specialized treatments for patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
5. Sequencing of the virus genome based on patient samples with a view to studying the molecular evolution of the virus in the Greek population and correlating mutations/polymorphisms with severity of the disease in order to identify highly pathogenic strains. Our goal is to analyze a large number of samples from SARS-CoV-2 patients in Greece in order to achieve full characterization of viral genomes, their host heterogeneity and create a map of the virus spread using phylogeographical analysis.
6. Study of SARS-CoV-2 interaction with human nerve cells and its effects on the brain. It has been found that a percentage of severely affected patients experience neurological problems. Most recent data show that SARS-CoV-2 may invade the central nervous system in multiple ways.

BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH CENTRE (BSRC) “ALEXANDER FLEMING”
With public health as one of its top priorities, BSRC Fleming supports the National Health System and the community by engaging in three specific actions to support diagnostic and research approaches against COVID-19:
• Participating in efforts to detect the virus in biological samples using the Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) facilities available at the Center: BSRC Fleming possesses the necessary technological infrastructure to support diagnostic tests and to participate in the improvement of existing, or the development of new, tests that will address immunity against SARS-CoV-2.
• Supporting research aimed at understanding viral pathology, by providing experimental animal models that are relevant to SARS-CoV-2 infection, inflammation and the neurotropism of the virus. Specifically, Fleming can provide pre-existing animal models or, based on emerging needs from current clinical studies of the virus, generate novel animal models through its specialized units. Additionally, utilizing platforms for the identification of clinical, cellular and molecular markers it can undertake the characterization of underlying clinical, genetic and epigenetic factors that are associated with susceptibility or resistance to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
• Providing technical expertise and the necessary bioinformatics tools required to analyse viral genetic material in the Greek population towards identification of potential variants associated with increased transmission or virulence. In addition, the Center can apply combinatorial bioinformatic methods on data from patient sample analyses to discover biological markers of the disease, as well as aid in drug repurposing. BSRC Fleming’s researchers are already collaborating with international teams in basic research projects to discover therapeutic targets by modelling and analysing viral – host protein interaction networks. All data from these actions will be freely available to the scientific community in order to accelerate research against COVID-19.
• At the European level, Fleming participates in efforts to tackle the pandemic as coordinator of two National Research Infrastructures, InfrafrontierGR and ELIXIR-GR, and as a core partner of their respective European networks INFRAFRONTIER and ELIXIR, that are already engaged in actions against COVID-19. Additional information is provided at the following links:
• https://www.infrafrontier.eu/knowledgeba... ,
• https://elixir-europe.org/news/covid-19-....

BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF THE ACADEMY OF ATHENS (BRFAA)
The Academy of Athens emphasizes that successfully addressing the pandemic and implementing a crisis exit strategy necessitates intensive research efforts to understand the biology and epidemiology of the virus, and to develop treatments and vaccines. The Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA), acknowledging the critical character of the situation, contributes to this effort with its specialized scientific staff and state-of-the-art research facilities. More specifically, BRFAA:
a) has launched a molecular diagnostic testing initiative for detection of the virus in the population;
b) is monitoring biomarkers of inflammation and immune response in order to select the appropriate treatment for patients in intensive-care units;
c) has planned surveys on immunity buildup in the population through detection of neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2;
d) is currently modelling biological material collections from COVID-19 patients, in order to conduct studies aimed at understanding the molecular evolution of the virus in the Greek population and the interaction of the virus with human cells to identify new drug targets; and
e) explores the connection between the global effects of the coronavirus crisis and the prevailing climate-environmental conditions, in collaboration with the Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology (RCAPC) of the Academy of Athens.
Moreover, the Research Centre of Pure and Applied Mathematics (RCPAM) of the Academy of Athens, a BRFAA partner, has developed reliable predictive models of virus spread, which will be useful for planning long-term pandemic management. Collaborating BRFAA develops animal models to study infection and inflammation in order to understand the pathogenic mechanism of viral infection.
Regarding treatment of COVID-19 patients, the competent members of the Academy of Athens, particularly intensive-care specialists, offer valuable medical guidance to the medical and nursing staff to address the pandemic.

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH (NCSR) “DEMOKRITOS”
Virus Detection
• The NCSR “Demokritos” provides infrastructure and develops appropriate methodologies for conducting virus detection tests in biological fluids, to help control the virus spread.
Antibody Detection – Qualitative Assessment of Immunity
• Development of biosensors for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in blood samples in collaboration with ThetaMetrisis (a NCSR “Demokritos” spin-off). Having already developed and patented optical-sensor technological platforms for critical inflammation markers directly related to COVID-19 disease, the NCSR “Demokritos” is currently evaluating these sensors with a view to achieving rapid, accurate and simultaneous identification of IgG/IgM antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in patient serum. Following completion of their preclinical and clinical evaluation, it will soon be possible to standardize the sensors in order to be able to cover the country’s needs.
• Development and production of innovative diagnostic kits for qualitative assessment of population immunity by a “Lefkippos” Attica Technology Park company in collaboration with “Demokritos” research laboratories. The main competitive advantage of this kit, which is currently in the final stages of production, is the simultaneous measurement of many immunity parameters, resulting to less false-positive results. Next steps are the final qualitative assessment of the kit to be conducted after the imminent reception of patient samples, and the file submission to the Greek National Organisation of Medicines (EOF). Following completion of clinical results, the diagnostic kits could become available to accredited centres in Greece which will be able to measure population immunity at a low-cost. At the same time, discussions are under way for potentially making the kit available internationally.
New Experimental Treatments
• Participation in multidisciplinary team of researchers, immunologists and clinical experts from the USA, Italy and Germany responsible for designing a clinical trial to evaluate a new experimental treatment for COVID-19 patients. The study will be coordinated by Greek pharmaceutical start-up Amyndas Pharmaceuticals and will assess whether the targeted inhibition of the complement system, a key component of innate immunity, can limit uncontrollable inflammation resulting in acute respiratory failure in COVID-19 patients.
Research Actions
• Research action to study the way antigenic peptides are generated from SARS-CoV-2 proteins, based on prior knowledge of the mechanisms used by the immune system to recognize infected cells. This action seeks to reveal important aspects of the human body defense mechanism against SARS-CoV-2 and find new ways to boost it.
• Design and development of SARS-CoV-2 protein inhibitors to prevent virus replication.
• Participation in the epidemiological study, coordinated by the GSRT, involving SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing and genetic analysis of patients. This study, to be conducted by a partnership of research laboratories, will produce important databases which, combined with similar international initiatives, will be a springboard to innovative computational studies using Artificial Intelligence. The NCSR ”Demokritos” will be responsible for development of the data management and analytics system.
Digital Applications
• Implementation of the BioASQ project, coordinated by NCSR “Demokritos”, which organises international competitions (challenges) for systems of biomedical information retrieval and automatic answering of relevant scientific questions from databases. In this context and with a view to promoting scientific research on COVID-19 disease, “Demokritos” launches a challenge which will use the AI software tools of the BioASQ project to answer scientific questions on the coronavirus. Through this process, our goal is to facilitate understanding of COVID-19 and contribute to finding new solutions.
• Utilization of the NCSR “Demokritos” Social Web Observatory for social science to study and analyze dissemination of COVID-19 information in the community (social media and news broadcasts). The analysis results will be made public to allow a real-time assessment of the confinement measures impact and to support policy planning.
Materials for protective equipment
• Providing fully available high-granularity infrastructure for measurement and recording of aerosol particles containing the virus, by size and concentration. This unit has been tested and can provide results for characterization of semi-permeable materials (e.g. masks) with sufficient respirability for human use in terms of their filtration capacity of micro- and nano-particles potentially carrying the virus. Performance of common materials has already been evaluated in comparison to standard-specification masks (Ν95, FFP1, 2, 3).
Air Quality
• Data from research stations monitoring atmospheric parameters are also examined and analyzed to assess changes in air quality as a result of the escalating restrictions on movement and decrease of related economic activities.

FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY-HELLAS (FORTH)

FORTH / INSTITUTE OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY (IMBB):
• The Heraklion-based IMBB provides appropriate equipment and infrastructures for SARS-CoV-2 detection, applying reliable molecular virus identification methods (RT-PCR) with a potential for wide diagnostic use.
• MINOTECH, the IMBB in-house production facility, is already producing molecular biology consumables (Taq polymerase, Reverse Transcriptase) used for RT/RQPCR, available throughout Greece and abroad (a MINOTECH and FORTH spin-off Enzyquest collaboration).
• Researchers at IMBB have been developing, modelling and using an innovative methodology for molecular identification of the virus based on biosensors, which could be used in near-patient points of care (e.g. mobile medical units, airports, ports, private medical practices, etc.). It is an adaptable and efficient method, unique on a global scale, which will be exploited by the newly established FORTH spin-off BIOPIX. Evaluation of its accuracy and reliability is under way in collaboration with COVID-19 reference centres.
• Using its state-of-the-art genomic analysis infrastructures (FORTH is a hub of the Hellenic Networks of Precision/Personalized Medicine and operates the only laboratory for ancient DNA analysis in Greece), IMBB is able to fully analyze the SARS-CoV-2 genetic material, in order to map and trace the origin of SARS-CoV-2 in Greece. Obtaining this information will be extremely helpful also for characterization of the different virus types present on the Greek territory, as well as determination of their geographical origin.
In a recent study (Population genomics insights into the recent evolution of SARS-CoV-2), researchers from IMBB and ICS/FORTH used population genetics analysis to infer the mutation rate and plausible recombination events that may have contributed to the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Their results suggest that the pangolin coronavirus genome may have contributed to the SARS-CoV-2 genome by recombination with the bat coronavirus genome. However, they find evidence for additional recombination events that involve coronavirus genomes from other hosts, i.e., Hedgehog and Sparrow. Even though recombination events within human hosts cannot be directly assessed, due to the high similarity of SARS-CoV-2 genomes, they infer that recombinations may have recently occurred within human hosts. In addition, they estimated the parameters of a demographic scenario involving an exponential growth of the size of the SARS-CoV-2 populations that have infected European, Asian and Northern American cohorts, and they demonstrated that a rapid exponential growth in population size can support the observed polymorphism patterns in SARS-CoV-2 genomes. (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/...)

FORTH / IMBB BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH DIVISION (IMBB-BR)
• The Ioannina-based IMBB Biomedical Research Division can provide equipment and infrastructure for molecular identification (RT-PCR) of SARS-CoV-2, as well as expertise and advice on diagnostic testing in dedicated spaces (hospitals, etc.) with certified diagnostic tests.

FORTH / INSTITUTE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE (ICS)
• The Heraklion-based FORTH Institute of Computer Science (ICS), together with IMBB, offer bioinformatics-based analysis of COVID-19 patient and SARS-CoV-2 virus genome in order to correlate virus mutations and specific polymorphisms in the human genome with disease symptoms and outcome. The ICS has already developed such methods.
• The ICS has developed @HOME, a specific application for monitoring the health status of COVID-19 patients while they remain at home. The @HOME system comprises a very simple app for smart phones offered to patients and a desktop application destined for the medical monitoring team. Via the smart-phone app, the patient receives reminders and communicates with the medical team, while having access to valid information on COVID-19. The medical team receives continuous feedback on the health status of all registered patients and is thus able to intervene in time, where required. The system was developed under the ICS Ambient Intelligence activities.
• The ICS Information Systems Laboratory has offered use of the CAPrice platform (https://www.capricecommunity.net/), a crowdsourcing solution for monitoring privacy protection, to the international initiative Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT), in the context of software application use for tracing contacts of COVID-19 confirmed cases.
• The ICS-FORTH Center for eHealth Applications and Services (CeHA) provides technical support to reference hospitals (Thriasio General Hospital of Eleusina, Pammakaristos General Hospital, University Regional General Hospital of Patras, etc.).
• The ICS-FORTH Center for eHealth Applications and Services (CeHA) offers its software application suite “Integrated Care Solutions (ICS)”, which has been supporting numerous health units in their day-to-day operations attending to the needs of thousands of citizens since 2000. Specific applications are now available in international markets. In hospitals, the ICS suite is used by administrative personnel as well as medical and nursing staff in clinics and medical offices for management of patients and their medical records. It is interconnected with third-party systems (National organization for health care services - EOPYY, e-Government Center for Social Security Services – IDIKA, Ministry of Health, etc.) supporting automation of administrative and medical operations (ordering of laboratory tests and receiving their results, data sending, provision of EOPYY services, interconnection with IDIKA ATLAS system, e-Prescribing, etc.) and transferring technology and knowledge in points of care.

FORTH / INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING STUDIES (ICE-HT)
• The FORTH ICE-HT in Patras (Composite and Nanomaterial Laboratory), in collaboration with the Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Laboratory (Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras) and ADRINE startup company (Patras Science Park), develops and manufactures, using 3D-printing, personal protective equipment (face shields) for the medical and nursing staff. Furthermore, it conducts laboratory testing of materials intended for medical-grade masks, supported by its technical services and in cooperation with physicians at the University Regional General Hospital of Patras.

FORTH / INSTITUTE OF ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE AND LASER (IESL)
• The Heraklion-based FORTH Institute of Electronic Structure & Laser (IESL) has already been working with 3D-printing techniques to manufacture face shields which will be delivered to the Sanitary District of Crete for use by local hospitals.

CENTRE FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY-HELLAS (CERTH)
1. Advanced molecular diagnostics, genomic analysis and immunogenetics.
2. Direct support of the medical and nursing staff through initiatives such as producing protective face shields. The first 200 face shields have already been delivered on 08/04/2020 to AHEPA General University Hospital of Thessaloniki and George Papanikolaou General Hospital of Thessaloniki, in collaboration with the international Hellenic University (Department of Industrial Engineering & Management and Department of Science and Technology) and with 3D-printing companies (ANiMA-The 3DPrinterExperts, Thes3D, Quick3Dparts and Retouch-HealthSolutions). Design, development and evaluation of reusable, high-filtration capacity respirators and alternative protective masks are also under way.
3. Providing e-Health Applications which are already in operation and can be adapted to the specific needs of users, in order to
• trace confirmed cases and alert persons which have been exposed;
• support patients, nurses, carers, relatives;
• optimize hospital logistics and mobile laboratory sampling procedure.
4. Providing applications in support of all sectors of economic activity, in order to:
• create computer models of epidemic spread and multi-scale simulations;
• assess the impact to agricultural and industrial production and to value chains; optimize cultures, activities and workforce availability.
5. Providing applications to support day-to-day activities of citizens and enterprises in order to:
• minimize contacts in workplaces and public spaces (automated monitoring of total number of persons present and safety distance monitoring in conformity with personal data protection requirements);
• optimize routing of express and e-commerce consignments and provide solutions for automated disinfection in production sites.
6. Development of information material and innovative educational projects using Augmented Reality technology, destined for workers in various posts and for volunteers to be involved in providing COVID-19-related services.

NATIONAL OBSERVATORY OF ATHENS (NOA)
The National Observatory of Athens, in an effort to support State authorities in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, has been developing and providing services ensuring continuous monitoring of the spatial distribution of confirmed cases and deaths, both in Greece and on a global level. Furthermore, it has been designing a number of experiments and surveys on the related atmospheric and weather conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of confinement measures on research areas of NOA competence, that is air pollution, air permeability, measurement of actual seismic background noise (without contribution from human activities), etc. Below we present the services introduced and the experiments and surveys under way, some of which have already yielded results, announced below (to be followed by specific Press releases with detailed results), while others are still underway and have yet to yield results.
A. Services:
• Information platform for continuous monitoring of worldwide COVID-19 status, with spatial granularity. A system of timely information and assessment with regard to virus spread was developed by the Operational Unit of Earth Observation and Satellite Remote Sensing Sciences under the BEYOND project, hosted at the NOA Institute of Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing (IAASARS) and is freely available online. Specifically for Greece, it supports collection of data from municipalities and registry offices, and presents additional data collected by BEYOND/Hellenic National Sentinel Data Mirror Site, including socioeconomic, environmental and atmospheric parameters.
• Β. Experiments which are underway and have already yielded initial results:
• Study on the “profile” of pollution sources during confinement to control the COVID-19 pandemic. The ΝΟΑ team studying air pollution in urban areas has been surveying the common pollutant and greenhouse gas emission data and has found that a 30-50% car-use reduction by the majority of the population due to confinement measures has resulted in significant decreases of CO, NOx, PM and CO2 emissions by up to 40%. Also, due to stay-at-home orders (#menoumespiti), domestic heating is now used for longer hours with the heating profile of weekdays now resembling that of weekends. It was found that oil remains the predominant heating option in all regions of Greece, but differences between regions were observed as regards the second most used option. In Attica, use of air-conditioners is very common but in all other regions their use is roughly the same as biomass combustion.
• Monitoring of atmospheric permeability and visibility due to reduction of anthropogenic pollutants. The Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development (IERSD) monitors on a continuous basis data directly related to particulate matter (aerosol) concentrations in the atmosphere from both anthropogenic (pollution) or natural (pollen, dust transfers) sources, as well as humidity levels. Initial results regarding visibility levels for the period 1/3/2020-10/4/2020 and their comparison with average values in multi-year visibility time series (for the same time of year and after subtracting rainy days) reveal a significant increase in atmospheric clarity and transparency. To cite just one example, visibility over 10 km has been observed 3.5 times more often than the expected average at this time of year.
• Study of the imprint of movement restriction measures on seismic background noise. The NOA Institute of Geodynamics (IG), in collaboration with the University of Patras, has launched a wide survey on seismic background noise, examining frequency data in the range of 5-25Hz from the 24-hour seismic activity recordings by the Hellenic Unified Seismological Network (HUSN) stations. Significantly, to this day observations reveal a noticeable gradual reduction in seismic background noise, which began immediately after the first announcement of confinement measures on March 13th, 2020 (shutdown of eating and drinking establishments, entertainment and recreational areas, malls, etc.), following closure of all schools and universities in the country on March 11th. Levels of seismic noise continued to decrease after the first announcement of measures, to ultimately record even lower values immediately after the second announcement imposing a general nation-wide lockdown as of March 23rd.
C. Experiments which are underway but have yet to yield results:
• Study of the possible influence of weather conditions on the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The IERSD METEO Operational Unit has launched a large survey using machine-learning techniques to reveal and quantify possible correlations between epidemiological variables (number of confirmed cases and deaths) and meteorological parameters (temperature, humidity, sunshine duration, etc.), taking also into account the impact of social distancing measures. The results will be used to measure the relative impact for each one of the examined meteorological variables on spread of COVID-19 disease.
• Monitoring of air pollution variation in the Attica Basin. In the context of monitoring the evolution of COVID-19 pandemic, the IERSD Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry Group (http://apcg.meteo.noa.gr/) monitors variation of air pollution in the Attica Basin, by conducting specialized measurements, at the NOA monitoring station in Thission, of common and specific pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (ΝΟ, ΝΟ2, ΝΟx), black carbon (BC), carbon monoxide (CO), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), as well as of carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in urban settings – a first for Greece. Furthermore, fluctuations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels in major Greek cities are also monitored using data from the European Space Agency (ESA) new-generation Sentinel-5P satellite.
• Monitoring of atmospheric parameters by the NOA PANhellenic Geophysical observatory of Antikythera (PANGEA) to assess impact of COVID-19. The IERSD ground-based remote sensing team, in collaboration with European Research Infrastructure ACTRIS (Aerosol Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure), is participating in a pan-European project designed to collect atmospheric composition measurements, particularly regarding the vertical distribution of atmospheric parameters (aerosols, clouds, humidity), scheduled to take place from April 20 to the end of May 2020. The project aims at studying the influence of decreased anthropogenic activity (e.g. vehicle use, industrial activities, air flights). Measurements are collected at the novel NOA research infrastructure, the PANhellenic Geophysical observatory of Antikythera (PANGEA).

ATHENA RESEARCH AND INNOVATION CENTER IN INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES
• Special version of BIP! Finder for COVID-19: BIP! Finder, available at (https://bip.imsi.athenarc.gr) is a tool that assists researchers in exploring available scientific literature. Its basic feature is that it supports ranking and comparing of scientific articles based on different impact scores. This enables researchers to prioritize searches based on their research interests, a particularly useful feature in an era characterized by extremely large numbers of publications available. The impact scores used are calculated through analysis of metadata for publications and their citation network. In the context of a wide awareness-raising effort to achieve a better understanding of issues related to COVID-19 and the coronavirus causing the disease, ATHENA RC developed a special version of the tool.
• Organization of an online event on COVID-19: actions, tools, good practices and contact points in Greece.
• Organization of an online conference by Research and Innovation Center “Athena” in the context of #APPOLONIS infrastructure under the title “Digital Humanities in the times of virus: a Twitter conference!”.

PATRAS SCIENCE PARK (PSP)
The PSP contribution consists in supporting the business sector by designing appropriate actions:
• BIOPIX DNA TECHNOLOGY P.C.: A FORTH-spin-off company, BIOPIX manufactures innovative units for virus detection. The company was fully funded under the “Proof of Concept” program which is implemented by PSP exclusively from private donors.
• Application-driven Research& Innovative Engineering (ADRINE): PSP-hosted ADRINE start-up, launched by FORTH researchers Dr. P. Papas and Dr. G. Anagnostopoulos, specializes in rapid prototyping using 3D-printing.
• Aidplex: Aidplex start-up company fabricates new-generation splints which are waterproof, skin-friendly, recyclable and lightweight; recently, intensive collaboration with Project Veltio and “Covid-19 Response Greece” volunteering action has resulted in the creation of two different types of face shields, ready to be mass-produced, if required.

The HERACLES research group on the Exposome and Human Health of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, in collaboration with the University School of Advanced Studies IUSS in Pavia have developed a computational tool for the evaluation of the public health risk from the COVID-19 epidemic in Greece and Italy and evaluated the effectiveness of different non-pharmacological intervention scenarios for public health risk management. The computational tool for public health risk management from COVID-19 is called CORE: COVID Risk Evaluation model. It includes an advanced model of the spread of the epidemic and the final health risk assessment of the affected population. For more details see https://stiplab.github.io/Covid19/files/...

Several research teams in Greek Universities (University of Thessaly, University of Thessaloniki) produce 3-D printing ventilators and/or protection material for COVID – 19, offered to local hospitals.

Q6A. What impact on the STI system do you anticipate in the short-, medium- and long-term, and what measures are you implementing to address those? The current global crisis due to coronavirus will have a particularly negative impact both on the public research system and on the companies involved in research projects (mostly SMEs but also several large companies with R&D activities). Most R&D project funding in Greece is provided by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) through the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF). In particular, the beneficiary companies already face severe liquidity problems and will hardly comply with the requirements of the ESIF Regulations in order to receive the installments foreseen in the funding contracts. We believe that the risk of not implementing or not completing the research projects is particularly high and such a development would have disastrous consequences for the businesses themselves, but also for the absorption of the NSRF 2014-20 funds. Consequently, we plan to negotiate an extension of eligibility of expenses of the current programming period up to 2025.

At the administration level we are taking all possible measures to ameliorate the effects of restrictions and closures to our universities, research centres and enterprises. We, therefore, extended all deadlines for submission of proposals for R&I projects as well as those for interim monitoring and completion of running projects, upon request by the coordinators. At the same time we will make every effort to speed up the administrative steps and audits for interim / final reviews of projects and to allow / enable timely payments to the enterprises and research organizations that implement and complete their projects.
Q6B. Is support of the STI system part of planned stimulus packages aimed at supporting the economy? No specific provisions have been envisaged so far.
Q7. Is there anything else regarding the STI policy response to Covid-19 in your country you would like to mention? [Left blank]