Kon: If we want to impose more drastic measures, we should do it now
Epidemiologist Predrag Kon said we are facing the peak of the epidemic now, and that he fears the sixth week, noting that "there is no more time to wait"
Source: Beta
"If we are going to introduce more drastic measures, now is the time to decide," Kon told "Danas" daily.
Asked what his personal attitude was, as well as whether there was a need for more rigorous restrictions, Kon said that "in Belgrade, which is particularly vulnerable, it must in any way ensure that contacts between citizens are reduced to the minimum".
However, he cannot say whether it also means a 24-hour curfew, pointing out once again that "there is no more time for negotiations and stories, because now lives are being saved."
According to him, the health system has not been compromised so far, but the situation is extremely serious.
"For now, no hospitals are closed, which does not mean that we don't have huge problems. It is clear that medical staff member who have been infected simply must not go to work, because we need to ensure that the infection does not spread in hospitals," Kon said.
As he stressed, sick workers in isolation present losses that have to be compensated, teams are reduced and the volume of the job to be performed remains the same. "Huge extra activity is needed," Kon emphasized.
He also said that infected health workers who show no symptoms "can work from home and perform, for instance, some administrative work".
"I think everyone has realized now how important it is to preserve health care facilities and why we needed improvised hospitals. And I think over time, it will be understood why those hospitals are not hotels. Hotels can't in any way provide the kind of isolation and the security that is necessary”, Kon concluded.
