Covid-19 safety measures must become way of life, expert says

The additional coronavirus protection measures that the Cyprus government re-instated some ten days ago will constitute the island’s new normal for at least the next six months, member of the government’s coronavirus advisory committee Leondios Kostrikis said Monday.

Until a vaccine is found, mandatory health and safety measures in place to curb the spread of coronavirus must become a ‘modus vivendi’ – a way of life, Kostrikis said.

He added that the recent coronavirus relapse Cyprus, particularly in the southern coastal town of Limassol appears to be recording is nearing its end, noting the government’s new measures, including a mandatory mask-use in specified indoor spaces, appear to be effective.

In addition, the additional measures re-instated for Limassol only, such as the 10-person cap on social gatherings, need to be implemented islandwide, Kostrikis suggested.

Referring to Cyprus’ move to downgrade Greece to the higher-risk category B in its three-tier categorization system, Kostrikis said the developing epidemiological situation there proves national authorities made the right move, after the country recorded 203 new cases on Sunday, that marked a new record of the highest number of positive diagnoses in a single day.

According to international media, one of Greece’s top infectious disease experts Gkikas Magiorkinis said “Greece has formally entered a second wave of the epidemic. This is the point that we could win or lose the battle.”

Asked about the current situation in Cyprus, Kostrikis said that we won’t be reaching the point of zero new daily cases any time soon, but we should expect smaller number of cases, with the current aim being less than five new cases per 1,000 tests.

Kostrikis assessed that Cyprus will have access to the vaccine during the first three months of 2021.

He said that the Cyprus health ministry has expressed its interest in the Astra Zeneca vaccine and has already placed an order of 1.2 million doses, expected at the beginning of 2021.