Crisis HQ expected to meet this week: Decision on Covid passes is on the table

Photo: Tanjug/Sava Radovanovic

Djerlek told RTS this morning that they are talking about Covid passes, that these are "on the table" and that a final decision is awaited. A session of the Crisis HQ is expected to be held this week, and a decision on Covid passes is on the table. It is not known when exactly the meeting will be held, and Mirsad Djerlek told RTS that a final decision on Covid passes is awaited.

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"The final decision is not the approval of the Crisis HQ, instead the best model is chosen where Covid passe will be required, whether only those three things - bars, cafes and nightclubs or something else. The point is to choose what will best influence establishing control over the epidemic," Djerlek stressed.

He stated that Serbia is following Europe when it comes to that, stressing that Serbia is an independent democratic country, which makes its decisions.

"We will take only what is of high quality and in accordance with our Constitution. I hope that we will bring the best solution that will be of the highest quality for our citizens," the State Secretary in the Ministry of Health pointed out.

He added that the first epidemiological measures in the fight against coronavirus were there until the appearance of the vaccine, but that now, he says, we must deal with increasing the number of vaccinated people "because we have the strongest weapon in the fight against Covid, and that is the vaccine."

"We currently have given about 3,035,000 first doses, about 502,000 third ones, which means that we still have progress, it is far from what we want and from collective immunity, but it's important to move forward and not stagnate and it will be useful. We will have to continue to fight because we cannot wait for the winter, and that is what the professionals are most afraid of - a crossover between Covid and flu," Djerlek noted.

According to him, the least vaccinated people are still in Tutin, Novi Pazar, Lajkovac and other smaller communities in Serbia.

When it comes to the number of vaccinated young people, Djerlek says that it is true that the number is slowly increasing, but that it is far from what is desired.

"The number of able-bodied vaccinated people is also increasing, but even that is insufficient. Everything that has been happening in the last days, five young people who died in Batajnica, a pregnant woman in Nis, I think these are enough reasons to understand that the Delta strain is proving its cruelty and that we should make the decision on the vaccine and not allow Delta to easily takes lives," stated Djerlek.

He stressed that two elements decide on saving lives - going to the hospital and getting on a ventilator.

"Those studies showed that almost 80 percent of hospitalized people are unvaccinated and the number of people who go to intensive care and end up on a ventilator has a ratio of two to 33, 95 percent of those on ventilators are unvaccinated, which is reason enough to get vaccinated," says Djerlek.