"Our epidemiological situation is marginal," Dr. Petros Karagiannis, Professor of Microbiology / Molecular Virology at the Medical School of the University of Nicosia, told KYPE.
"The situation is marginal. Either with the measures and the vaccines it will remain at a level of stability or when Omicron 'takes off' then we will have a problem. There is a big 'if' », write down.
Dr. Karagiannis said that for Omicron, we know that it is transmitted much more easily but there is still no clear picture of the country where the data comes from, whether it is a mild disease or some say it is the same as Delta.
"It seems that the two vaccines do not treat her adequately, especially if they were given a few months ago. "As immunity declines, it does not seem to treat Omicron adequately, so the third dose is needed, and high levels of antibodies appear to be needed.", he added.
He said the 28 cases of Omicron that have been detected so far were expected to come from the close family environment and the contacts of the original individuals who came out positive.
"The big question here is whether they have penetrated the community, some incidents which remain undetected. "And this is what is dangerous because we see on a daily basis at the entrance gates of the country that about 40 cases are detected per day, which is a fairly high number of cases, which we do not know if it is Omicron."he pointed out.
What we need to focus on, he continued, is at least arrivals from the UK in an effort to prevent an incident from entering the community.
Asked what suggestions will be made in the afternoon at the meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee with the Minister of Health, Dr. Karagiannis said that "any measures discussed today will have the effort to limit the transmission. We know very well that this is done through vaccinations and through self-protection measures and compliance with protocols. The latter are entirely based on the responsibility of each of us. Therefore, we emphasize it repeatedly, but we still see incidents both in the workplace and within families now. "
I do not know, he noted, where the discussion will go and what additional measures will be decided to go to the Ministry.
Asked if scientists would suggest restrictions on family gatherings, Dr. Karagiannis said that "The 20 that is at the moment could remain, as long as these social gatherings are in a close family circle, that is, we do not open up to the wider circle of friends, especially with people we do not meet very often. Of course, this usually happens during the Christmas celebration, but let's forget about it for this year, or let's limit it or postpone it for later ".
Asked if there would be a suggestion for everyone to be tested, regardless of vaccination history, to enter certain areas and participate in specific activities, he said that it is a suggestion that has been on the table many times so far. "I believe that due to the arrival of Omicron in Cyprus, we can no longer risk it as long as we know that it also affects the vaccinated," he noted.
Regarding the self-tests, Dr. Karagiannis stated that "if they are used correctly by each of us then they will have the appropriate benefit. From there, it is up to each of us to use them responsibly. "