The discipline that we have proved as a people that we have and the seriousness regarding the implementation of the measures and the protocols, are the weapons that we have at the moment to prevent a large outbreak of cases, with perhaps uncontrollable consequences, stressed the Minister of Health Konstantinos Ioannou.
In his greeting, read by Dr. George Charalambous at the 6th Annual Pancyprian Public Conference organized today, in the form of a teleconference, the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health (CII) of TEPAK, the Minister of Health initially referred to the actions of the Ministry in front of the appearance of the new coronavirus.
As he said, the triptych of control and monitoring of the population, timely identification of people positive for the virus and investigation and tracking of their close contacts, helped the most in maintaining the epidemiological image of the country at very good levels and put Cyprus on the map with countries who managed the pandemic in an exemplary manner.
After the peak of the wave last April, he continued, Cyprus managed with great perseverance and patience to cope with the least possible losses and added that "today the epidemiological picture presents positive elements even though there are occasional outbreaks", while he pointed out that in all over the world the data is volatile and extremely dynamic.
He stressed that excessive relaxation and complacency can lead to derailment from our goal and stressed that "the involvement of society in this great struggle" is of paramount importance in the Ministry's effort.
"The discipline we have demonstrated as a people that we have and the seriousness in implementing the measures and protocols are the weapons we have at the moment to prevent a major outbreak of cases with perhaps uncontrollable consequences," he added.
Referring to the Conference, the Minister of Health said that the research results presented are of great interest, as they result from research conducted on the Cypriot population.
"Through this project, the modern and humanitarian orientation of the University is highlighted", he said and noted that TEPAK, proven, is today the place where innovative knowledge is cultivated and produced in a wide range of research areas and especially in that of public health.
The keynote speaker on behalf of the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) was Dr. A girl Baka, who according to a relevant announcement, referred to the pan-European plan for the pandemic.
In particular, he said that the continent with the most cases and deaths is America, while now the beginning of a second wave of the pandemic is observed. He added that the second wave of pandemics in Europe seems to be particularly prevalent in Spain, southern France and some Central European countries. "It is encouraging," he added, "that despite the increase in incidents, they are not accompanied by the same death rate , possibly due to better treatment protocols and incident handling in health care facilities but also due to the conduct of more tests.
In relation to Cyprus, added Dr. Baka, a very low percentage of positive cases is recorded, however most of them seem to concern younger people (20-40 years old) in contrast to the initial period of the virus (March - April 2020).
Dr. George Nikolopoulos, Visiting Assistant Professor at the Medical School of the University of Cyprus analyzed the epidemiological health data collected for the pandemic in Cyprus, while noting that in our country are recorded perhaps the most tests performed daily (approximately 2000-3000), by analogy population.
He added that at this stage, the mortality of the new coronavirus is low, ie about 3,2 per 100,000 for Greece and Cyprus and that, according to ECDC estimates, no increase in morbidity or increase in cases requiring intensive treatment is expected until mid-October. .
Dr. Fofi Konstantinidou, Professor of the Department of Psychology at the University of Cyprus, analyzed the results of a study conducted during the inclusion period, which showed that about 1 in 4 adults in Cyprus - about 23% - showed moderate to high levels of stress when the corresponding percentage in normal periods ranged from 1-4%. 67% of the sample stated that their quality of life changed significantly during the lockdown period.
Two studies to assess the impact of restraint measures on the quality of life and lifestyle of the Cypriot population, analyzed the Associate Professor of CII Dr. Konstantinos Makris, who stated that one took place during the period of confinement for adults and the other study during the period of reopening of schools.
In particular, changes in the lifestyle profile and habits of children after the lockdown were identified, such as increased sugar consumption, increased screen time, and reduced physical activity, compared to their habits before March 2020 (before the lockdown). For adults, there were differences in social interactions and transient stress levels between men and women.
For his part, Dr. Petros Karagiannis, Professor of Microbiology / Molecular Virology, School of Medicine, University of Nicosia, analyzed all the measures taken by the Republic of Cyprus to address the pandemic from January 2020 until today, while Dr. Zoe Pana, Lecturer at the Medical School of the European University of Cyprus, referred to the WHO protocols for the safe reopening of schools.
Also, Dr. Sergios Agapiou, Assistant Professor of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Cyprus, referred to the modeling of pandemic indicators, while the Director of Medical Services, Dr. Elisavet Konstantinou, analyzed the systematic actions of the Epidemiological Surveillance Unit for all these and stressed that random sampling will continue in the community.
Finally, Dr. Andri Panagiotou, Assistant Professor at CII of TEPAK analyzed the protocol study of the CARTESIAN CY cohort (series) starting in October on the subject of its effect COVID-19 in early vascular aging.
The Rector of TEPAK, Professor Panagiotis Zafeiris, the Dean of the School of Health Sciences of TEPAK, Dr. addressed a greeting at the online Conference. Nick Middleton and the Medical Director of the German Oncology Center Dr. Nikolaos Zampoglou.
(KYPE