And while until Monday afternoon everything seemed to indicate that the possibility of self-implementation of measures before the New Year was on ice, yesterday's cold snap of 1925 cases sounded alarm bells at the Ministry of Health, where concern is high.
It was the highest number of daily cases since the start of the pandemic.
The previous negative record was recorded on 15 July last year and was 1152 cases.
In the light of the new epidemiological data as they emerge, the possibility of taking emergency measures before the end of the year and in Cyprus, following the example of other countries, remains open as fears of the prevalence of the Omicron superbug mutation in the community intensify.
In the light of the new epidemiological data as they emerge, the possibility of taking emergency measures before the end of the year and in Cyprus, following the example of other countries, remains open as fears of the prevalence of the Omicron superbug mutation in the community intensify. Sources from the Ministry of Health and the Scientific Advisory Committee said by Monday afternoon that the next meeting to discuss new measures would be on January 3, barring a contingency of course. Apparently the almost 2 thousand cases recorded yesterday do not allow for such a long wait.
Although the stable number of hospitalisations is recorded as the only positive aspect of yesterday, there is nevertheless strong concern that the high number of cases will not translate in the next few days into an increase in hospital admissions.
The Minister of Health is expected to request the recommendations of the experts again and it cannot be ruled out that the meeting scheduled for next Monday will finally take place within a week. If the members of the Scientific Advisory Committee recommend emergency measures, then the Council of Ministers will also have to be convened on an emergency basis.
With everyone wanting to avoid a new lockdown that would have a huge negative impact on the local economy, experts are expected to recommend measures aimed at halting further dispersal in the community. This is expected to be the goal, namely reducing contacts which translates - among other things - into a reduction in gatherings in homes and other high-risk places. It is also expected to put on the table the data before the Tracing Unit which is again facing a big "headache" due to the large number of cases, on the one hand due to the festive gatherings and on the other due to the diaspora detected in the temporary accommodation centre of Pournara.
"We will see in the coming days if the high numbers translate into an increase in patients and pressure on the health system"[/b]Cyprus Times said, speaking to the Cyprus Times, the member of the Scientific Advisory Committee, Professor of Microbiology/Molecular Virology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Nicosia, Dr. Petros Karagiannis, who also notes the large number of tests taken on Monday, which exceeded 121 thousand. "Such an increase was expected, but not in such a short period of time," he said, commenting on the surge of positive cases.
The epidemiological picture is constantly changing due to Omicron...
However, speaking to the Cyprus Times yesterday, Dr. Zoe Dorothea Pana, when asked to comment on the current situation, noted that there are some facts that we cannot avoid, such as the constantly changing epidemiological picture due to Omicron.
And he explained that, "the Omicron mutation is much more contagious and constantly changes the epidemiological picture every 2-3 days. There is pressure on the health system and it is a given that the Omicron mutation will prevail in Cyprus as well. What we want is to gain time and that is why we are constantly evaluating the data, he said."
Regarding vaccination coverage, he said that it is going well and is fortifying the population against the new mutation, calling on citizens who had reservations about mrna vaccines to come and get vaccinated with new technology vaccines, such as novavax, in order to shield themselves.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs to Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
