Adviser says daily cases could shoot up to 1,000 without more vigilance
Cases could shoot up to a thousand if we are not careful, member of the advisory committee on coronavirus Dr Petros Karayiannis said on Tuesday in response to the previous day’s figures, which showed 787 positives.
“Many continue to act as if the virus has left the community, but yesterday’s 787 cases show that it is still with us, spreading rapidly due to behaviours we insist on not halting to stop the spread,” the professor of microbiology/molecular virology of the Medical School at the University of Nicosia told the Cyprus News Agency.
We are 160 cases away from the number that led us to taking strict measures last time, he added, “but things are different now as the vaccination coverage is higher”.
The more contagious Delta variant, which is thought to be responsible for the recent surge in cases, has been observed to mainly affect the unvaccinated.
Karayiannis said that even though it is not yet clear whether the Delta variant is the dominant strain as samples are still being processed by the ECDC, he speculated that the spread of infections can be attributed to the specific variant, given its speed.
With a low vaccine take-up among younger Cypriots, ministry data has shown that most of those recently infected were under 40, with Karayiannis pointing out that at least 55 per cent of new cases were detected among people under 25.
Even though younger people do get infected, and some do end up in hospital, the worst effects of the virus will not be as apparent as they were when the elderly were the most vulnerable group, he said.
“This doesn’t mean that infections won’t creep upward sooner or later, because some infected individuals could come in contact with older people who haven’t yet been vaccinated”.
Karayiannis said that given hospital admissions have already started rising, there is a possibility they will continue to.
He added however that because mostly younger people are now being admitted, hospitalisations and deaths are still lower than they were during other waves of the virus.
This phenomenon has also been observed in the UK, whose PM Boris Johnson announced on Monday the country will be lifting almost all restrictions on July 19 despite the surge – “a courageous decision I hope does not cost them dearly,” he said.
The advisor was vague about whether the government is considering rescinding some of the recent measure relaxations, saying strict measures have previously proven effective in limiting infections.
The situation in hospitals is manageable so far, which gives the government some time to deliberate on its next actions while monitoring the epidemiological situation, he said, adding that the advisory team will be at their disposal.
He added that he was unsure what kind of measures would work during the tourist period since they would effectively close the tourist industry for what is left of the season.
“What’s better – willingly complying to personal protection measures and health protocols for a couple of weeks, or be forced to follow restrictive measures once more?”
Once again, he reiterated the government’s pleas for young people to get vaccinated, saying that the responsible – vaccinated – portion of the population is being “held hostage by a group of people who do not understand the importance of vaccinations”.
Others ignore that vaccines are 85 per cent effective against the virus, choosing to forgo the jab after seeing that some vaccinated people might still get ill.
A fall in cases is dependent on our own behaviour, he stressed.
“Imagine how much worse numbers would be if it were winter or autumn, when we are forced to stay indoors. Fortunately, thanks to our vaccination coverage and the fact we are spending a lot of time outdoors, infections are not spreading as fast”.
Observing the transmission chains, however, it is obvious that they originate in places where people gather, ignoring personal protection measures and health protocols, he added.
Karayiannis finally said that the government’s hopes lie in reaching 80 per cent vaccination coverage by September to ensure herd immunity. “If we don’t, we’ll have problems – that is now clear”.
https://cyprus-mail.com/2021/07/06/coronavirus-adviser-says-daily-cases-could-shoot-up-to-1000-without-more-vigilance/
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