Measures, such as the wearing of masks and checking vaccination and illness certificates, have been abandoned for so long, one wonders how easy it will be to reinstate them if need be.
We should consider every time we find ourselves in an indoors space that it is quite likely that there may be near us a vulnerable fellow citizen of any age.
This is not the first time that the wrong signals – such as elimination of the compulsory wearing of masks outdoors or talk of eliminating the requirement that vaccination certificates be required at restaurants, - have been conveyed to the public.
The new measures concerning the wearing of masks, tele-work, restaurants, and athletics venues are not yet being implemented and will be instituted at the start of the new year.
At the beginning of 2021, all those involved in managing the public health crisis had the illusion that the COVID-19 pandemic was coming to an end and that everything would be better by summer.
It is perhaps more important than ever to limit the mixed messages regarding public health measures that may be required. That way, no one will be confused and no one will be exposed.
Sarigiannis said that horizontal restrictions would reduce the number of deaths, as contacts would be totally severed, but one would still have a high volume of new infections in the immediate future.”
With one of the main criticisms of the government’s handling of the pandemic being lax enforcement of existing measures, Mitsotakis announced that authorities will intensify monitoring of implementation.
On the one hand it says it is waiting to assess the effectiveness of existing measures, and on the other it notes that epidemiological indices appear to have stabilised slightly over the last few days.
Recommendations will not suffice. One must examine restrictive measures targeting mainly the unvaccinated, as they are five times more likely to fall ill and ten times more likely to die than those who are vaccinated.
There was heightened concern about tourists on the islands after 14 cases of COVID-19 returning from IOS were detected in sample testing yesterday evening at the Port of Rafina.
It seems that the Delta variant has played a major role in the sudden increase in cases in Greece and experts expect it to be the predominant variant in August.
We twist nose swabs in our nostrils and our children’s. With needles and pins in the hands after vaccination, at work we have a rapid test twice weekly along with a daily statement that you don’t have COVID-19.
There is a potentially explosive combination of newer, aggressive COVID-19 variants, the drop in the average age of new confirmed cases to 39, and the fact that there are more admissions of COVID-19 cases to hospitals than releases.
Is what we are experiencing - a return to normalcy and a restoration of the daily life of which we have been deprived for one whole year? It appears to be more of a starting point for restarting social and economic life, which has reached an impasse and has withered.
Medical experts stress that the re-opening of society and the economy must be carefully controlled and based on rules enforced with the same sense of discipline as during the lockdown.
'The careful opening of the economy is a risk we must take now..Faithful implementation of rules should be universal. Why now? We are in a better state than in February and we saved lives and bought time,'said Deputy Minister to the PM Akis Skertsos.
Ta Nea joins its voice with the the state, the scientific community, and enlightened Metropolitan bishops of the Orthodox Church of Greece for the citizenry to abide by public health guidelines.
The stance of the government and infectious diseases (ID) experts is to urge and force Greeks nationwide to hunker down at home until the coronavirus tsunami recedes.
It should be understood that solidarity and a sense of social responsibility give us an important advantage in responding to the pandemic.
Διαχειριστής - Διευθυντής: Λευτέρης Θ. Χαραλαμπόπουλος
Διευθύντρια Σύνταξης: Αργυρώ Τσατσούλη
Ιδιοκτησία - Δικαιούχος domain name: ΑΛΤΕΡ ΕΓΚΟ ΜΜΕ Α.Ε.
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