At noon, Kati hosted the Minister of Health, Konstantinos Ioannou, who spoke about the upcoming relaxations, the vaccination program and the increase in cases observed in recent days.
He initially said that concerns would always be directed at the health system. "We have come a long way and we have been strengthened with the necessary infrastructure."
He added that as the Ministry of Health they requested the update of the action plan of OKYPY for the possibility of a third wave. "At the moment there is an increase in cases which worries me a lot, but our guide is the adequacy of the health system that responds."
He clarified that before any thoughts and decisions, they first take the opinion of experts. "The concern is being recorded and it takes a few days for them to crystallize an opinion. There are no thoughts of escalating the measures. "
He stressed that with this pandemic no planning can be done. "I understand the concern of the people but we are moving with indicators such as the cumulative incidence of cases, occupancy in hospitals and other indicators."
He then spoke about the surveillance, noting that it will be intensified with each Ministry undertaking its field of activity. "Surveillance is done but it is not enough on its own, as the cooperation of the people is needed." He added that some areas are assessed according to their risk "such as the focus which is at the most dangerous level".
He explained that the plan of the Ministry of Health starts from the economic, social, sports activities, with stability. "The goal is to limit contacts because that way we limit the spread."
He also spoke about the outbreak of cases in schools. "I asked for information from the Trace Manager with a lot of problems in the Primary Schools."
He stated that in the primary schools, tests with rapid tests cannot be performed, as a result of which the problem is even bigger. "No decision has been made to change the date of return to school, but everything will be evaluated this week.
He also said that there are many activities that have priority for vaccination. "A technical committee has been appointed which has received terms of reference to evaluate the economic activities." He clarified that there are no vaccines to start vaccination in economic activities at the same time. "This will happen in early April," he said.
The Minister of Health also spoke about the vaccines from the Russian market. "There is a risk and risk in the supply of unlicensed vaccines. If SputnikV is approved by the European Medicines Agency, we will adopt it. " He added that as Cyprus we have pre-purchased the maximum quantities we could.
He also mentioned that in Cyprus we bought the maximum quantities from all countries. "Currently, whichever company is approved, we buy the maximum quantities we can and if there is a delay, it is due to the production capacity of the companies."
Finally, he spoke about the tragedy at Makareio Hospital with the loss of an infant, clarifying that an investigation has been launched for possible medical negligence. "We are very strict on these issues."
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Source: Sigmalive