With 126 epidemiologists and more than 1,500 positives a day, even with the help of general practitioners and students, not all the people with whom the newly infected were in contact can be found, the professor points out to Kurir. Dr. Branislav Tiodorović
Serbia has only 126 epidemiologists, which is absolutely insufficient to send all the contacts of those infected when we have more than 1,500 positives a day. No one can find thousands and thousands of contacts, so it is very important that everyone wear masks, keep their distance, and report to the kovid clinic as soon as they notice the slightest symptom.
photo: Courier
Two days ago, Dr. Srdja Jankovic, a crisis headquarters immunologist, was the first to point out the problem of the lack of epidemiologists, saying that Serbia only has a hundred of them and that they cannot send all the contacts of all infected people. And the epidemiologist and crisis staff member prof. Dr. Branislav Tiodorović specified yesterday for Kurir that Serbia currently has 126 epidemiologists.
– But they are concentrated in “Trampoline”, Novi Sad, Nis, Kragujevac, and the whole country must be covered. There are also places that do not have an epidemiologist, so it is covered by regional institutes and institutes of public health. However, it is not a question of whether epidemiologists will find contacts, general practitioners and educated students and volunteers can do the same. Epidemiologists, first of all, must organize the work, determine the strategy when the infection appears in large groups, schools, kindergartens … What happens is that no one in the world can achieve it or catch it now because the numbers are enormous . Contacts in our country are sought by health centers, institutes and institutes of public health, but it is not the same to make 100, 200, 300 and even 2,000 contacts and 20,000 of them – said Tiodorović and added:
– Do not be sure that you are healthy and that the virus has not reached you because, let’s say, you are young and have no problems. Young people are the biggest carriers of the virus. For all that, it is very important that everyone wears masks, keep their distance, wash their hands, and that disinfection is done regularly.
photo: Courier
He also explained that precisely because it is difficult to capture thousands and thousands of contacts, there is a screening.
– In simple terms, it’s sifting, which means you examine an environment and find newly infected people in it. You go to a destination, to a school or a work team, or perhaps to a newsroom, to a part of the city. You should have a reason for that: to increase the number of first exams or to come to hospitals from there more than from elsewhere. And precisely for this reason it is estimated that there are many more infected, even up to 10 times, than the official figures – emphasized Tiodorović.
The professor added that until recently, young people between 20 and 40 years old represented 80 percent of the newly infected, but now that division is moving towards those between 40 and 60, of which there are already 40 percent.
– Moving the virus to older age groups means it spreads more easily and that also means more severe forms of the disease that will fill hospitals. But a distinction must be made between those who show positivity and those who are sick: he said and claimed that no one alive can prove everything and that no Germany, France and only the United States can succeed.
NIS INFECTS
Close Jura
Warns Prof. Dr. Branislav Tiodorović photo: Tamara Trajković
If the current trend continues, it is necessary to temporarily close “Jura” for at least seven days. That is a question for lawyers and economists. If we could shut down “Jura” in Leskovac when the infection spread there, why not this in Nis as well? Up to 56.2 percent of positive residents of Nis in the last two months are from “Jura” – said Tiodorović.
NOVE MORE
Selective closure
The new measures will be at the moment when the situation becomes serious and cannot be controlled. And it’s not about numbers, but about assessing the situation. In Belgrade, 1,000 new infections is about 200 in Nis, so the selection of measures is beginning. The first shortening of the work of the catering facilities until 9:00 p.m., so that there is no music and then no alcohol is served. The second phase is even more serious: the closing of cinemas and theaters. Let’s reduce the meeting to ten people, and five if necessary. And it doesn’t have to be all of Belgrade, it can be part of the city, Tiodorović said.
EPIDEMIOLOGY
Neglected prevention
Prevention, preventive medicine specialists, including epidemiologists, hygienists, microbiologists, virologists, as well as infectologists and pulmonologists over the years, have been neglected. The number of specializations in epidemiology has been limited for years. And epidemiologists do not only deal with infectious diseases, but also with massive diseases, chronic non-communicable diseases, such as monitoring of malignant cardiovascular diseases. The pandemic showed us that we need to think much more about preventive medicine, Tiodorović said.
AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW
Penalties for masks and 2,500
According to Tanjug, with the reforms to the Law for the Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases, the communal militia will issue a foul order for non-compliance with the measures, so the fine for those who do not wear a mask will be 5,000 dinars, and 2,500 in eight days.
