Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela expressed his concern on Wednesday over the rising number of people testing positive for Covid-19, adding that decisions will be taken according to the number of hospitalisations.
He said that the ministry will study the current data and will review the situation in the next few days, depending on the hospitalisations, but explained that reimposing indoor mask mandates would be difficult.
Asked about reimposing masks indoors, Hadjipantela said that the issue “has been discussed but there are other more pressing issues.”
“Our concern is whether the public would abide by the measure,” the Health Minister said.
He added that there are other ways in which to raise awareness amongst the public.
During his comments to state broadcaster CyBC, Hadjipantela said that he met with his Israeli counterpart and the rising infections were part of their discussion, noting that Israel has been experiencing a considerable spike in cases over the past few weeks.
Another point of discussion in recent days has been the issue of tests, as the government’s rapid test programme has been significantly scaled back.
“Rapid tests are also going to be an issue – whether there must be targeted testing or perhaps in some groups of the population,” he explained.
According to the health ministry’s latest weekly report, issued last Friday, it was announced that 3,470 people tested positive from a total of 53,416 tests.
Members of the government’s Covid-19 advisory group have emphasised that infections are likely far higher, given that most people are not currently undertaking tests.
The report further stated that there were 34 coronavirus patients receiving treatment at state institutions, although it was not clarified whether they were hospitalised for reasons other than covid and later tested positive.
As of the last report, the Republic has confirmed 1,070 deaths attributed to Covid-19.
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