Following a recommendation by the vaccination advisory body last week, the administration of a fourth dose of the vaccine to those aged 70 and over and the immunocompromised is being discussed by the Council of Ministers and the Covid-19 advisory body on Tuesday and it is expected to be approved, considering the recent spike in the number of cases on the island.
A total of 5,286 new infections originating from 114,066 tests were detected on Monday, with a positivity rate of 4.63 per cent.
Scientific advisor Petros Karayiannis called the high number of cases “unexpected” and said one of the main reasons behind the spike can be explained by a shift in people’s mentality regarding the virus.
“Many no longer were masks indoors or in busy places, I receive complaints every day about it. We are no longer careful,” he told Alpha TV on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, I believe the number of cases will further rise in the upcoming days, I expect we will reach 6,000 daily infections very soon.”
Karayiannis, Professor of Microbiology/Molecular Virology at the University of Nicosia Medical School, added that by next week the Omicron 2 variant will make up 90 per cent of the total cases.
“Data recorded in Greece shows that the Omicron 2 variant affects unvaccinated people as young as 40 years-old, many of whom end up hospitalised. Pregnant women are also at risk.”
As things stand, no further relaxations of the coronavirus measures are expected, as it emerged from a meeting between the scientific advisory committee and Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantelas on Monday.
The possibility of further relaxations will be reviewed in two weeks, health ministry spokesman Constantinos Athanasiou said after the meeting was completed.
“We are in talks with the health ministry regarding the next steps to take, especially as far as rapid tests are concerned, specifically who should do them and how often. We need to be prepared,” Karayiannis concluded.
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