With the arrival of colder days, everybody is getting alarmed about the coronavirus again while the members of the Crisis Unit take advantage of every opportunity to appeal and scare people with new measures to combat the contagion.
Epidemiologist Predrag Kon reminds us that we should wear masks outdoors while another epidemiologist Branislav Tiodorović suggests that if we do not comply with the measures, there will be more than 500 infected a day in two weeks’ time, and when this number is exceeded, it is possible that the government will decide to close schools and universities again.
It is obvious that talking about the numbers (i.e. people who are infected with the coronavirus or have died from it) is problematic, especially when public opinion has evidence that the figures that are publicly quoted are different to the real number of infected and dead. Also, people in Serbia have had enough of everything and everyone and are now much less inclined to listen to the members of the Crisis Unit, let alone adhere to the measures they prescribe.
“The third wave of the coronavirus contagion is underway, and if we don’t understand it and adhere to the anti-epidemic measures, we will have more than 500 infected people a day in two weeks. When we exceed that number, we could decide to close schools and universities and switch back to online teaching, ”said Tiodorović.
A few hours later, Tiodorović denied his own claims or having told the media that schools would close if the number of people infected with the virus exceeding 500, adding that “talking about numbers could cause problems”.
Considering that the Crisis Unit does not instil trust in people in Serbia, the doctors gathered in the United Against COVID Association are appealing the following:
“The numbers are growing, it is clear, there is a mathematical progression. We rely on our experiences from June and July, when we the first peak subsided and then the second peak came. And then, as now, the curve will begin to grow slowly. On the other hand, it is clear that the virus is raging in the region, and it is impossible for it to subside only in our country while it is spreading fast everywhere else. It is autumn and respiratory infections are expected to intensify,” explains Andjela Gavrilović, one of the Association’s doctors.
The latest figures show that there are more than 2,000 new cases in Romania, around 1,000 in Austria and close to 200 in Bosnia and Croatia.
Discover the most important foreign investments in Serbia in 2019: click here!
Dr Gavrilović also points out that people have relaxed a little, that masks are rarely worn, especially in closed spaces and in Belgrade.
“Exceeding the number of 500 infected people a day, as cited by Tiodorović, depends on whether the numbers that are now being communicated to us are realistic or not and whether a sufficient number of people are being examined,” says Gavrilović, who believes that the statements coming from the government’s Crisis Unit are often contradictory.
For example, she notes that the Crisis Unit is trying to blame bars and cafes for the increase in the number of infected people, but the bars and catering facilities are operating in accordance with the recommendations made by the very Crisis Unit.
“We expect there to be a new wave. On behalf of all doctors in Serbia, we ask that all of this be taken seriously. It is certain that there will be a third wave, along with the flu and all the other respiratory infections typical of this period, “warns Dr Gavrilović.
(Nova, 13.10.2020)
https://nova.rs/vesti/drustvo/zbog-cega-nas-danima-plase-s-novih-500-obolelih-na-dan/
This post is also available in: Italiano