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Concerns over church images and the effects.
Concerns have been raised about the possibility of a coronavirus outbreak in the near future, due to the laxity during the holiday season.
We are already experiencing the first meteorological effects, as in the last 24 hours, a high number of daily cases are recorded (816 on Wednesday and 928 on Tuesday), while the entry of the virus in Elderly Care Units where people from vulnerable groups are hosted is frightening, which may mean for the – anyway – extremely slow, decompression of the NSS.
And as if that were not enough, we have the images on the day of the Epiphany celebrtions, where many believers were found in churhces indifferent to the measures and to scientists, taking it for granted that these gatherings will burden the epidemiological curve. A clear picture is expected to be seen in about 15 days, according to experts, who appear to already have reservations about the return of click away and the opening of hair salons.
All of this jeopardizes the lifting of the lockdown, and creates “second thoughts” even for the upcoming opening of primary schools on January 11, with experts warning that they may close again.
The government has said it wants to avoid the scenario of having to close schools again after they reopen, but anything is possible as long as the country’s epidemiological situation continues to deteriorate.
It is worth noting that according to yesterday’s announcement of EODY, the transmissibility index of the virus, Rt for the territory is estimated at 0.75, while to get out of the lockdown with certainty it needs to fall below 0.5.
In any case, the scientists have the first say, and tomorrow, Friday, the committee of experts of the Ministry of Health is expected to meet to make decisions.
Nightmare estimates for the arrival of the third wave
Given the extremely slow decompression of the NSS, scientists’ estimations for the arrival of the third wave of the pandemic are nightmarish.
The ICU director of the “Papanikolaou” hospital, Nikolaos Kapravelos, states with certainty that “a third wave is coming and we will mourn many victims”.
“I am not afraid that we will experience similar incidents, I am sure. Worse, much worse, with these minds we will not only talk about the tragedy of Thessaloniki and Northern Greece but of the country… Be sure that we have a third wave ahead, and we will mourn many victims “said Mr. Kapravelos (Sky).
The difference between November and February is that the NSS is much more pressured without available ICUs he explained.
“I am lost for words, I really do not know what else I can add to help citizens and the state to avoid the tragedy that continues and that we see ahead of us,” said Mr. Kapravelos.
“On one of the dark days of November, I pointed out that lives that could have been saved could be lost and will be lost. A week later, the Thessaloniki prosecutor’s office called me with three questions: 1st, what did not happen that could have happened? 2nd, should never have happened, and 3rd, who is responsible. “We paid for it with a million victims and we continue,” he said.
Mr. Kapravelos clarified that not only the feast of St. Demetrius is responsible for the epidemic in Thessaloniki, but a number of other activities such as tourism and trade.
What will happen on Monday – Thoughts on extending the lockdown
The next few days are considered crucial in order to evaluate the epidemiological data and make decisions about the next steps.
The Committee of Experts of the Ministry of Health is expected to meet tomorrow, Friday, to make decisions, as the hard horizontal lockdown that was imposed a week ago typically ends on Sunday.
The reports of the Minister of State George Gerapetritis who left a window for new measures are not only accidental.
“You can not rule out any measure. “If we need to proceed again with a ban on activities, we will act if necessary,” the Minister of State stressed, speaking to SKAI.
The growing trend of cases and the consequences of holiday mobility, however, do not bode well for the news.
Scientists believe that if an increase in the epidemiological burden is found, it is better to keep the restrictive measures for another week or two.
Charalambos Gogos, professor of infectious disease pathology and member of the committee of infectious disease specialists, appeared wary of a possible opening of the retail trade from next Monday, stressing that during the holidays there was a 30% increase in mobility. There are constant concerns with the data that exist in our country, while cases with the new executive have already appeared.
“We are coming out of a lockdown and we have to be careful” he noted characteristically while he mentioned that there is a possibility that the click away will work by region.
It is recalled that in addition to schools, the government’s initial planning included the reopening of the click-away trade from Monday, provided that experts give the green light, which, as everything shows, will not happen.
For full story in Greek click on source link:- https://www.in.gr/
