Stricter measures for new COVID variant not justified, Minister says
Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 6:36 pm
The Advisory Scientific Committee for the coronavirus will meet next week to evaluate the epidemiological indicators and new data related to the virus, Health Minister Popi Kanari said.
This was announced during the proceedings of the World Conference of Cypriot Diaspora, in Nicosia, by Kanari, who stressed that “there is no justification for any stricter measures regarding the coronavirus at the moment.”
According to the Minister, “On the 29th of the month (August), the Committee will be convened to determine whether we will continue with the measures currently in place, which include rapid testing in hospitals and nursing homes.” She noted that “these are the only provisions at this moment, similar to many other countries.”
“There is no justification for any stricter measures at the moment. We are monitoring the new ‘Eris’ sub-variant and we are on alert for the new variant detected in Canada, Israel, and the UK,” she said.
As she stated, the Ministry considers that “there is no reason for concern,” noting that they are in constant communication with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and the data does not warrant any additional measures or panic.
Kanari mentioned that the Ministry of Health monitors the data, which they collect and will present to the Committee members for evaluation, in order to make decisions on how to proceed.
Furthermore, the Minister of Health reported that they have already updated the vaccination programme for the coming year.
“The schedule has already been determined. Vaccines will start to be administered from the end of September until the beginning of November, both for the new COVID-19 vaccine and the influenza vaccine,” she said.
She further mentioned that the WHO recommends these vaccines be administered together this year, adding that at Vaccination Centers, citizens will have the option to receive them simultaneously.
She clarified that this applies to citizens above 60 years old and vulnerable groups.
She specified that the influenza vaccines can also be administered by personal physicians, as before.
https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/news/lo ... ster-says/
This was announced during the proceedings of the World Conference of Cypriot Diaspora, in Nicosia, by Kanari, who stressed that “there is no justification for any stricter measures regarding the coronavirus at the moment.”
According to the Minister, “On the 29th of the month (August), the Committee will be convened to determine whether we will continue with the measures currently in place, which include rapid testing in hospitals and nursing homes.” She noted that “these are the only provisions at this moment, similar to many other countries.”
“There is no justification for any stricter measures at the moment. We are monitoring the new ‘Eris’ sub-variant and we are on alert for the new variant detected in Canada, Israel, and the UK,” she said.
As she stated, the Ministry considers that “there is no reason for concern,” noting that they are in constant communication with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and the data does not warrant any additional measures or panic.
Kanari mentioned that the Ministry of Health monitors the data, which they collect and will present to the Committee members for evaluation, in order to make decisions on how to proceed.
Furthermore, the Minister of Health reported that they have already updated the vaccination programme for the coming year.
“The schedule has already been determined. Vaccines will start to be administered from the end of September until the beginning of November, both for the new COVID-19 vaccine and the influenza vaccine,” she said.
She further mentioned that the WHO recommends these vaccines be administered together this year, adding that at Vaccination Centers, citizens will have the option to receive them simultaneously.
She clarified that this applies to citizens above 60 years old and vulnerable groups.
She specified that the influenza vaccines can also be administered by personal physicians, as before.
https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/news/lo ... ster-says/