Kon on reopening of gardens: It's not like we wanted it to snow; making mistakes now would be tragic

Photo: Tanjug/Strahinja Acimovic

Vaccination and the impact of the anti-pandemic measures have contributed to better suppression of coronavirus, epidemiologist and member of the Crisis HQ Dr. Predrag Kon said today.

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"The effect of the measures is now very clear, but we must not neglect the coverage by vaccination, which is impressive in some areas. In Belgrade, more than 34 percent of the adult population have been vaccinated. This was clearly visible in recent days. We have been asking for a minimum of two weeks of measures in force, and now we can clearly see the slowdown and the decline (in new cases)," Kon told Pink TV.

As he added, the situation is better now, and seriously better as is evident in Belgrade, where the number of new daily cases starting to fall faster. It is now below 1,000. Perhaps no one expected the number to drop so quickly, but the vaccine works well in Belgrade.

Speaking about stores and shopping centers, he said that each store has its obligations, but that when it comes to shopping centers, the situation is still different.

"When it comes to shopping malls, that's a different case. The pressure is huge, about 80 requests have arrived in 3 or 4 days. There has been a dilution by correcting the measures. I'm not saying that it's just because of the pressure, it's important that we listen to each other, that's how it was with (cafe and restaurant) gardens. It's not that we wanted it to snow, but that's how it turned out ," said Dr. Kon.

"In terms of relaxing the measures, we are in a situation where we can suppress the virus. It would be tragic to make a mistake because of impatience. When hospitals are full, we have to say that the situation is extraordinary. We still have an inflow of patients higher than the discharge, but the difference has decreased to 30, that must continue. The virus tricked us several times, when we thought that it had no more strength to rise," said Kon.

He says that the favorable situation we are in must be used.

"We will see how restrictive we will be with the people who are coming (to the country). The measures exist, they just need to be implemented. They call me about everything that is not implemented, they are sending me messages any way they can. I even quarrel sometimes, people, what do you expect from me," Kon revealed.

The doctor stressed that our citizens should become aware that the way out of this situation is vaccination.

"The one who has chosen not to be vaccinated, has decided to be infected, that must be clear to them, and they should not wonder about it later, in three months or in a year. The vaccination of the president and the support of the Church are terribly important. Just a little patience, I beg citizens to get vaccinated, the speed of getting out of all this depends on that," Kon stressed.

(Telegraf.rs)