Filenews 21 April 2021
The risk of further increases in cases and hospitalizations is real and visible, the Minister of Health, Konstantinos Ioannou, told the CYPE today, who again appealed to citizens that they demonstrate once again a spirit of cooperation and follow the guidelines of the health protocols.
He warns that "if we get to the point where we don't have beds, but also staff, to care for our patients, we will automatically lose control and go through what we saw in other countries, where medical staff were forced to choose which lives to save."
According to Mr Ioannou, "lockdown is a scenario that remains on the table", however, he made it clear that the government wants to exhaust all other options before resorting to a new hard, universal and prohibitive lockdown.
Asked by the CYPE to comment on the record number of cases recorded by Cyprus on Tuesday, with 941 incidents, which is the highest number since the start of the pandemic on the island, the Minister of Health said that "undoubtedly this is a very worrying development, ringing a bell to all", to add that the Ministry is concerned about the possibility of a further increase in cases, even stabilizing for a long time at such high levels.
"We are more concerned, because if we get to the point where we will cross the line and lose control of the situation, this will translate into the hospitalizations of our fellow human beings, and unfortunately, some will become seriously ill and some will not survive," he said.
Urging citizens to vaccinate as soon as possible
The Minister of Health, in his statements to the CYPE, urges citizens to proceed with their vaccination as soon as possible and to protect their health and the health of their loved ones.
Asked if we were faced with the possibility of an unmanageable situation, given that the increased cases of the last few days will translate into hospital admissions in the next period, Mr Ioannou said that "a proportion close to 5% of cases need hospitalization along the way and some of them die".
He stresses that "if we get to the point where we will have no beds, but also staff, to care for our patients, we will automatically lose control and go through what we saw in other countries, where medical staff were forced to choose which lives to save."
Hospitals are now seeing younger people hospitalised
As he noted, "no older people, who are more vulnerable to the virus, are now hospitalized in hospitals, but younger people who are in most cases healthy citizens and are in this position because they did not take care as much as they should or because they relaxed too much and forgot the basic personal protection measures that we all have to follow."
"What I'm saying is that our brother, our best friend, our cousin, our children's teacher are now being treated in hospitals. We cannot afford to lose human lives," he stresses.
The more people who choose vaccination, the sooner the battle will be won.
He also said that "the risk remains at a very high level and now as never before we all have personal and social responsibility", adding that "we have the weapon of vaccination at our disposal and the more we choose to use it in this battle, the sooner we will win over the invisible enemy."
In addition, he said that "until we complete the vaccination coverage required to be immune in the community, it is imperative that we observe the basic rules", while re-recommending to citizens that they avoid places with great numbers of people, limit their contacts and movements to what is absolutely necessary, wear a mask there and, where necessary, take care of simple personal hygiene measures, and apply health protocols in their workplaces.
"All of these," he added, "are small actions that can protect us from an increase in cases and, by extension, hospitalizations and deaths."
There is the possibility of developing 400 beds
Asked if the actions to be taken in the possibility of a greater number of incidents had been decided and whether hospitals had the capacity to cope with this unprecedented situation, the Minister of Health explained that "in hospitals there is the possibility to develop up to 400 beds and there is the necessary equipment and consumables".
He said that "cooperation with the private sector significantly relieves the general hospitals from the other incidents", but he made it clear that it is a question of having competence in human resources, doctors of specific specialties and nursing staff.
In addition, he said that "it is the staff that will save the lives of citizens and not a machine on its own", to add that unfortunately, as is the case in all countries worldwide, human availability is not unlimited.
"We have been in this unprecedented situation for almost 15 months and fatigue has occurred not only among citizens, but also in health professionals. With the attitude and behaviour of each of us, while observing the necessary precautionary measures, we are creating a firewall for health professionals, since cases and hospitalizations are reduced."
Lockdown remains on the table
Asked to say whether he felt emergency and more stringent measures were necessary and if we were faced with the possibility of a new lockdown, Mr Ioannou said that "lockdown is a scenario that remains on the table."
However, he made it clear that they want to exhaust all other options before resorting to a new hard, universal and prohibitive lockdown.
He expressed confidence that proper adherence to the measures in conjunction with vaccination would prevent this scenario, adding that "we have seen it in practice that when measures and health protocols are implemented with reverence and caution, they yield and limit the spread of the virus".
In conclusion, he said that "it is not the Government's intention to impose restrictions on citizens at a time when we can, with the will and cooperation of all, reduce the epidemiological burden and safely move forward".
Cna
