Epidemiologist Predrag Kon said he “felt a feeling of deep sadness because of everything that happened on Tuesday evening in front of the National Parliament in Belgrade, as well as a great understanding of the desperation of the people because of the new measures announced”.
However, he added, “there are indications that the epidemiological situation in Belgrade is improving”, but on the other hand, if another wave of the epidemic starts, it could be even more serious than that.
“Since we already have problems with hospital capacity, it is normal to think that more beds are needed for an even more serious situation. We have to think about it. I’m sure it’s disturbing to hear this, but I think the public needs to know that in order to avoid the despair that people have shown in the last two days, which I fully understand and which makes me really sad…But it’s still unlikely that we will introduce such restrictive measures,” he added.
“The reaction of the citizens showed what they think of the new measures announced by Vučić,” continued Kon.
“What Vučić made public was his reflections and his decision, but last night’s reaction showed what people thought about it. Nobody wants to mistreat people; the only goal is always to have a health care system fitting to save lives. We are closely following the situation daily,” Kon said on N1 TV.
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When asked whether the measures announced by the President of Serbia are only planned for Belgrade or for the whole of Serbia, he said that “when I spoke to the President, we only talked about Belgrade”.
“The situation is constantly changing, we must prevent contacts and this is effectively done by the more stringent measures. The pre-election rallies and sports events were all signs of irresponsible behaviour. This coincided with school proms, plus certain individuals from the government were also behaving irresponsibly. All of that has led to the new peak,” he said.
Kon added that the explosiveness of the coronavirus contagion was surprising although there are early indications that the epidemiological situation is improving. He also said that new COVID hospitals have been opened for prevention.
Kon pointed out that there was no doubt that the coronavirus would be suppressed in a couple of weeks, but after that, a new wave could follow, which intensity will depend on collective immunity. Last but not least, there is a lack of medical personnel and there is a problem with the official data of the contagion that needs to be clarified, he concluded.
(Insajder, 08.07.2020)
This post is also available in: Italiano