If the New Year is celebrated in Serbia in the usual way, the consequences can be terrifying!

The holidays are a time of relaxation and celebration, but we must not relax when it comes to the crown.

Celebration can quickly take precedence if we don’t take proper precautions. In an interview with Kurir, Marijan Ivanuša, director of the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Serbia, warned about this, when asked how to behave, in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic, during the next holiday of New Year.

What is your position on the measures to be applied during the New Year holidays?

– These days, the total number of kovida 19 deaths in Europe has exceeded half a million. The large number of deaths is a clear indicator of how we should behave during the holidays and how many measures are still necessary. The holidays are a time of relaxation and celebration, but we must not relax when it comes to the crown. Celebration can quickly take priority if we don’t take proper precautions. The upcoming holidays represent an exceptional risk of a rapid deterioration in the epidemiological situation, which is already extremely serious. This New Year and Christmas are an opportunity to ask ourselves who is the person that means the most to us and to dedicate those holidays to that loved one and celebrate in the closest family. I absolutely do not recommend visiting friends, neighbors, and broader relatives.

Epidemiologists even say that if we do not take the situation seriously, the increase in the number of infected could take a leap at Christmas …

– The current wave is extremely serious and if an even greater number of new patients were updated, in terms of an additional wave, it would be very tragic. We had the opportunity to see that the epidemiological situation worsened in each situation in which we relaxed and did not respect the measures. Although it is very complicated and difficult, the situation with this virus shows a certain regularity: if we follow the measures, the situation is better, and if not, the virus continues to be transmitted, more people get sick and many die. So if the New Year is celebrated in Serbia in the usual way, seven to ten days after the New Year, we will have results that will certainly not be favorable and can be scary. Now we see that the situation is calming down and if we continue to apply the measures, I believe that we can expect relief and improvement in the situation.

According to your assessment, are the citizens of Serbia too relaxed during this pandemic?

– We have the opportunity to see that there is not much difference in the behavior of people from one country to another. People everywhere behave very similarly. However, measures must be adapted to the local situation and culture, all with the aim of preventing people from gathering, providing physical distance, wearing masks and respecting respiratory and hand hygiene. What is part of the measures necessary to reduce the transmission of the virus does not correspond to the nature of man as a social being. This is especially evident in countries where close contact is part of the culture, and Serbia is one of them. We see that after the jump in the number of new patients when the measures are not respected, but, on the other hand, we also saw during the spring and summer that, when people respect the measures, it is possible to improve the epidemiological situation in May and September. As the current wave is not yet under control, we must make additional efforts and significantly reduce the number of new cases.

Vaccination is starting around the world. How long must it take before the epidemiological situation calms down?

– Recent news about vaccines has brought us hope and we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, which grows stronger as more and more countries take steps to prepare for vaccination. But keep in mind that, although vaccines will help end the pandemic, they will not solve everything immediately. As the kovida 19 crisis continues, we must still take all necessary measures to prevent the spread of the virus and death. It will take several months to vaccinate enough people to reduce the burden of the epidemic. Depending on the availability of the vaccine, the preparation of people for vaccination, and the organization of the vaccination itself, it may take more than a year for the world to take a break from this epidemic. We certainly hope that in 2021 the situation in Serbia will normalize. If not before, at least in the second half of the year.

On the distribution of vaccines among the countries of the world

NO ONE IS SAFE UNTIL EVERYONE IS SAFE

Do you think vaccines will be distributed evenly around the world? We are already hearing stories about how the richest countries almost got hold of them …

– Vaccines are a global public good. It is in the interest of all countries that the vaccine is available throughout the world. The world is a global village. There will be no true global recovery, including an economic one, if all parts of the world cannot control the transmission of the virus. On the other hand, as we have seen throughout history, the wealthiest always want to solve the situation in their country first. That is why the WHO launched the Kovaks initiative to make vaccines available to the poorest countries. More than 180 countries, rich and poor alike, have joined the Covacs initiative, which aims to make vaccines available. The plan is to provide more than two billion doses of vaccines in 2021 through this initiative. Although there is a desire among leaders to protect their people first, the response to this pandemic must be collective: No one is safe until everyone is safe.

Kurir.rs/ Boban Karović

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Author: Boban Karović