The current prevalence of the "Omicron" mutation in coronavirus cases in our country is estimated at 80%, while in the coming days it will be fully prevalent, said the Minister of Health, Michalis Hadjipandella, after his visit to the Limassol General Hospital.
Accompanied by the Chairman of the Board of OKYPY Mario Panagidis and the Executive Director of OKYPY Limassol - Paphos, Christos Nikolaou, Mr. Hadjipandela visited today, first the General Hospital of Paphos and later the General Hospital of Limassol, where he wished "Chronia" thanked, as he said, for the efforts they are making to deal with the pandemic.
At the same time, he added, he had the opportunity to visit the COVID ward of the Limassol General Hospital and to be informed about the situation with the hospitalizations, while when asked about the incidents with the "Omicron" mutation, he said that so far he has not been located in hospitalized people. .
"We know very well the percentage of positivity of Omicron and we believe that in the coming days our population will prevail", he mentioned and noted that next week a very large sample will be taken from the patients who are treated in the hospitals, in order to determine if some of them carry the "Omicron" mutation.
Asked what is the percentage of the "Omicron" variant in our country, Mr. Hadjipandelas said that it is estimated that today it reaches 80%, while in the coming days it is expected to prevail in full.
He expressed the position that in the next period there will be a further increase in the number of new cases of coronavirus, however he stressed that with the peak will be observed and their rapid decrease. He attributed the increase in incidents to the predominance of the "Omicron" mutation and added that "This is a global phenomenon and unfortunately our Cyprus can not be an exception."
Asked to comment on whether the increase in cases and the number of hospitalizations show that the "Omicron" mutation is less pathogenic, the Minister said that "The data so far tell us this, but there should be no complacency, neither from the people, nor from us."
"People need to be vaccinated and the only weapon we have and the only thing we have learned in the last year is that if you are vaccinated, you are not in danger of entering the Intensive Care Unit and that is clear.", he added.
He also pointed out that "If you are vaccinated, you will get the virus but you will not end up in hospitals and it is something we all need to understand and we all need to be careful."
In the event that a decision is made to restrict travel or not to open schools, Michalis Hadjipandela replied that he would expect to speak with experts and that he would have a meeting with the scientific team next Tuesday.
"I will wait to hear from them and if the epidemiologists suggest that the schools remain closed, it is something we will definitely discuss in the Council of Ministers." he said.
In relation to the incident recorded in Israel with a woman's illness, both with the flu and with the coronavirus, the Minister said that "We must all be calm and wait to see all the right data. "It's a new incident that happened in Israel and we have to give our scientists a chance to analyze it and when they do, we will take a stand."
Asked about the general condition of the hospitals, he answered that the condition of the common beds is good.
"There is a pressure on the intensive care units and it is a problem that we have identified in time, so tomorrow there will be a meeting at the General Hospital of Larnaca, which will give us several beds and also, there are other discussions and meetings and thoughts, always in consultation with OKYPY, to increase our intensive care beds more if there is a need ", he added.
He clarified that the problem with the lack of beds in the Intensive Care Units, concerns non-covid cases and that "our goal is to further increase the beds we have and there is a plan that we will develop immediately."
Finally, the Minister of Health congratulated the Cyprus Pediatric Society for the cooperation in the effort to vaccinate children, which started today in Nicosia.