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Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed a message to citizens on Thursday afternoon. The Prime Minister referred to the effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, without taking new measures, but with a strict implementation of what is already in force and local interventions where necessary.
“I am addressing you again at a critical time in the fight against the pandemic. We have been through 7 difficult months. The government is fighting on many issues at the same time. But especially in the war for health, we need the citizen as an ally. Nowhere else The virus is here and is “much more deadly than seasonal flu,” Mr. Mitsotakis said at the beginning of his message.
The Prime Minister emphasized that Greece is still doing better than most European countries, adding that hospital structures are durable and getting stronger.
“While the threat erupts again, I ask you to be vigilant again, without new measures, but with the implementation of the current measures,” said the prime minister, who acknowledged flaws, citing concrete examples such as the image in public transport.
Mr. Mitsotakis called for the faithful implementation of the measures, in order to avoid new restrictions.
The whole message of the prime minister
“My fellow citizens,
I speak to you again, at a critical moment in the battle against the pandemic. Because I consider it my debt. But I’m still sorry. And because in the face of the new coronavirus outbreak, I have the same faith in our potential that I had when I called you when I first met him.
We have had seven difficult months. The government, I remind you, is fighting simultaneously on many fronts: national affairs, immigration, the economy, but also natural disasters. But especially in the war for health, we don’t need the conscientious citizen as an ally anywhere else.
This is not an alibi or a disclaimer. After all, I’ve shown that I don’t hesitate to make tough decisions quickly. But to tame the new wave of the pandemic, the state, scientists and citizens must work even more closely, with more trust with each other.
I start with an indisputable truth: The virus is here, it is present. It did not stop circulating among us. And it is much more deadly than the seasonal flu.
As long as there is no vaccine or cure, we must learn to live with it. But significantly changing our daily life. We do it to protect not only ourselves, but also those we love. Especially our most vulnerable fellow citizens, but also everyone. Because what in a 20-year-old is a simple sore throat, can take his boyfriend or girlfriend to the Intensive Care Unit, it can be fatal for his father or grandfather.
The health crisis is ravaging the entire world. Countries like the United States, Spain, France, which at first mourned thousands of victims, today see the nightmare return. And the second wave is spreading around the world.
But now we are better prepared. We know which measures work best. And we have learned from the mistakes of other countries, but also from ours. Despite the recent increase in cases, Greece is still doing much better than most of the richest countries in the world.
Since the beginning of the pandemic we cry 365 lives, when countries with the same population, such as Portugal and Belgium, have 2,000 deaths the first and 10,000 the second.
We take advantage of the summer to protect the National Health System, which of the 557 ICU beds last year has almost 1,000 now. And stocks of sanitary material with a horizon of months.
We have hired around 6,200 new nurses and doctors, many of whom will remain at NSS permanently. We multiply the daily tests. While we are one of the first in Europe to have the new rapid antigen test.
However, let’s not forget that our doctors and nurses are not only fighting against the coronavirus, but also against all other diseases or accidents.
And since they sound like a lot, I can assure you that hospital structures are still far from their limits.. And, of course, they are constantly getting stronger. The new Intensive Care Unit of the “Sotiria” hospital will soon be operational with 50 more beds. And the Niarchos Foundation donation has been launched, which will add another 174 beds to the System.
My fellow citizens,
I promise to present reality as it is. And this is what I will do now: As the threat to public health erupts again, I invite you to a new watch.
There are no new general measures throughout the territory. But with consistent application of what already applies. And with specific interventions when necessary, in areas that show a high epidemiological burden, like Attica today.
Our goal is small individual concessions to prevent the great decline of our Health and Economy.
What do we not want to see? An aggressive increase in cases and intubations.
Can we achieve this without horizontal restrictions, what we call “blocking”? Of course we can. It depends on us. And we have the power and the knowledge to do it.
Universal measurements may seem simple. And, in fact, it was extremely effective in the early phase of the pandemic. In the medium term, however, they bring tragic consequences for the economy and great injustices for society.
We know that freezing all activities reduces the transmission of the virus. It was Spring’s lesson, but it cost us a lot. “Closure” means businesses closed and unemployment. Lower public revenues and great recession.
And if we hadn’t intervened in time with a bold and ever-evolving program to save the economy, things would have been much worse.
Above all, however, “blocking” means social prejudice. Because the real estate economy mobilizes inequalities. Like closed schools, they only bring closed minds.
After all, any horizontal restriction is unfair. Because it equalizes different weights on everyone’s back. So let’s avoid a second experience of this kind.
Today we have more experience in dealing with the pandemic. We know, for example, that schools should be the last to close in the face of a new pandemic outbreak, not the first.
Or that workplaces and entertainment, with the monitoring we do, can promote the transmission of the virus.
Does this mean they have to close? Not! They have to adjust their rules and opening hours. The mask, therefore, should be mandatory in all enclosed spaces. And develop teleworking. While conferences and cultural events can be held online for a while.
I will say it openly: The dilemma is “Self-Protection or Quarantine.”. And knowing the consequences of the second, we have a duty to choose the first. Without many words. But with a few actions, proven and effective: Distances. Personal hygiene. And, most importantly, mask until you find the cure and the vaccine.
I would dare to say, in fact, that the mask is the vaccine to the vaccine. It is used by our non-whining children, who prove to be more disciplined than some adults.
Because, unlike any other measure, it is a very simple movement, it protects us from some momentary negligence, a random synchronicity.
Bottom line: Experts tell us that if a coronavirus patient approaches a healthy fellow citizen and they both wear masks, the possibility of transmission is infinitesimal.
Therefore, we must get used to it. And if necessary, the State will impose the obligation of the measure.
From the first moment I emphasized that the plan of the State can be the compass. But citizens are walking the road. Your. And thanks again for that.
The state, for its part, will never hide the areas where it can improve.
In transportation, let’s say. Although 250 buses have been added to Attica since last year, these did not seem to be enough to avoid overcrowding. That is why we institute continuous work attendance hours.
But we need more vehicles and more frequent services. Extraordinary times impose extraordinary measures. So, starting next week, 100 new buses and another 400 will start operating by the end of the year.
My fellow citizens,
I ask you to face the truth: managing a pandemic is not a pendulum swinging from one end of lockdown to the other end of total relaxation.
There is a point of balance. A new regularity, while the pandemic lasts, called a controlled operation. The economy and society itself. It is up to us to locate this point.
The next few weeks will judge the next few months, maybe years. And we have to get back to the coronavirus, instead of following it. With specific measures always, where necessary.
After all, the global mobilization for the vaccine gives hope that it will not be discovered too soon.
Until then, the State will be attentive, will trust the experts, will always act with transparency and will report.
But let’s not hide: the implementation of even the most effective measure depends on its faithful implementation. Together we will succeed again or together we will lose the opportunity.
Having the positive experience of Spring I am sure of the first. So that as soon as we can remove our masks, we will all once again have the smile of common national satisfaction and confidence on our faces. “.
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