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Not sure yet if there will be any relaxations during Easter

13/04/2021 16:12

 

Member of the Scientific Committee on the pandemic, Professor of Microbiology/Molecular Virology at the University of Nicosia Medical School, Dr. Petros Karayiannis, told CNA on Tuesday that it is not sure yet if there will be any relaxations of the restrictive measures during Easter, noting that the number of new coronavirus cases daily has not stabilised.

"It`s too soon to tell as far as possible relaxations are concerned, since we still have a high number of cases every day" he said, adding that there could be some relaxations as regards the number of persons in the churches, but this would depend on the people`s behavior.

He stressed that the situation at the moment is not stable, since there are ups and downs from 400 to 600 cases daily which does not allow for safe conclusions to be drawn.

Asked about the increase in cases, he said that this is due to  the mutant strain, which is more easily transmitted but also due to the fatigue which causes people not to abide strictly by the health protocols.

Asked when there will be a reduction in the number cases, he said it is very difficult to say, adding that we must keep in mind that we are not under strict restrictions as was the case in January when we managed to decrease the number in three weeks.

"We are circulating, moving, the economy is active, therefore it is even more difficult to see a decrease in cases in a short period of time".

Asked if the number of cases would drop in the summer, he said that if everything goes as planned  and the vaccination coverage continues smoothly, then, along with the higher temperatures, we could see a significant decrease.