Filenews 2 October 2021 - by Marilena Panagi
"The facts are changing, the pandemic is changing phases, we cannot fail to change the way we manage it", stresses to "F" the head of the Tracing Unit Valentinos Silvestros, while claiming that "some measures or practices that we apply must also be changed. Some things are also dangerous to remain as they were decided and implemented in May or June when now we are in October."
It is no coincidence, he explained , "that the protocols we follow in the management of cases and contacts from the beginning of the pandemic until today have changed 16 times and we will definitely see changes afterwards because the data evolves and our knowledge becomes more, and the phases of the pandemic and the behaviour of the virus are different".
Last June, "SafePass was implemented. Back then the data was different. Vaccination coverage was much lower, delta mutation was in its very early stages, safepass provisions were aimed at promoting vaccination."
At the moment, "we see from the tracing we are doing that 34% of the new cases, as recorded in the latest data analysis, concerned people with a vaccination history with 22% being fully vaccinated." At the same time, "we find that some citizens have only received the first dose to be able to secure SafePass and then did not proceed with the completion of their vaccination. It's dangerous to keep this criterion, that is, only the first instalment on SafePass from now on. Some things have to change." Lately, he said, "we have had four such incidents that people have told us they are not going to do the second dose because they were vaccinated just so that they could move around and escape the tests."
Also, "we see some dangerous loopholes in the control. That is, the machines that electronically check SafePass, and if someone is positive for the virus, SafePass is disabled for 14 days, they are only used in targeted and specific places. This means that "for the general population, SafePass's electronic control is not applied, so anyone who owns it can use it, regardless of whether it is then a case or contact."
On the other hand, "we all know that those vaccinated, to a lesser extent but it happens, can catch and transmit the virus. In other words, we see that 22% of new cases are fully vaccinated and a similar percentage is seen in hospitalized patients. At the same time, we note that this percentage is on the rise. We cannot make simple analyses and say only from how many vaccinated, infected by the virus so many and from the unvaccinated most. This is a correct scientific criterion and that is why we insist on the benefits of vaccination, but we cannot hide behind this fact. As a Tracing Unit, we have raised the possibility of targeted checks on vaccinated people for even specific areas."
It's time, said Mr. Silvestros, "to review and prepare properly for the winter. Let us hope that we will not see another serious outbreak, but in order to achieve this, we must also be well prepared. We must not hesitate to go back and forth when it comes to the measures we are implementing. That is, when the percentage of people with a vaccination history among new cases was at 5% it is not the same as now that we are at 34%. It makes sense that as vaccination coverage increases, this percentage will also increase, but since we see that there are similar rates in hospitals, we need to prepare ourselves and take action."
Tracing, he added, "is one of our most basic weapons in the management of the pandemic, because in addition to the practical level, i.e. the identification and isolation of cases and contacts, it is also a means of recording real data and I believe that this data must be used by what they tell us something."
The pandemic has changed, "we have changed too"
At the beginning of the pandemic, "there was full cooperation between our unit and the citizens. In the first outbreaks, people who tested positive gave us up to 35 contacts and this while we were in quarantine, except of course for some cases where we found that citizens were worried about their work." Now, "while everything is open and we circulate, we work, we have a social life, we see that in some cases only 2 or 3 contacts are declared to us."
"As the pandemic has changed, we've changed too." Many times, Said Mr. Silvestros, "we are looking for positive people and we cannot identify them. We ask for help from the Police, the health services and again nothing, or we try to convince contacts and cases to be contained."
For example, "you ask someone why they go for a car ride after you were in touch and they answer you because I wanted to get air. And you explain to him that you were in the car on your own, but in case there was an accident or the police stopped you for a check you would put other people in danger and he replies "that's what I wanted, that's what I did". "Because that's how I want it" has no place for public health interventions."
In the workplace, "sometimes they improvise and that's dangerous. That is, they say, do a rapid test and if you are negative come in, even if you are a contact. This can be dangerous. It's been almost two years since the start of the pandemic on the planet, we all need to know how we should behave."
"You hear them on the phone coughing and they tell you it's not a cough"
Inevitably, in the 20 months during which the tracing procedure is applied, various jocularities are recorded in the Unit. "Some are for laughing, some for crying and some for reflecting on."
For example, "we call people who are positive for the virus. You hear them on the phone coughing and they tell you it's not a cough, I have no symptoms. This troubles you, but it is also dangerous because it means that citizens let the symptoms become more severe and then are admitted to hospitals late with all that this entails for them."
"At the same time, however, we also have incidents that have a rather tragi-comic development. There was a case of a tourist who we were looking for for two days and we could not find her. Finally, the Police discovered her and all they had to tell us was for us to pay her fine because she would defame Cyprus as a tourist destination through the internet.''
