G. Economou: We have a strategy of open economy and society and at the same time an effort to tame the coronavirus

Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou spoke about the epidemiological situation and the new phase in which the pandemic has spread throughout Europe, about schools, compulsory education and public transport, in a radio interview on Real Fm. He stressed that the economy and society will not close again and referred to the developments in Northern Macedonia.

“We are in a phase where we are under a lot of pressure from the pandemic, the health system is under pressure. Similar waves are being experienced in other European countries. The pressure is directly related to vaccination rates. It is inversely proportional to vaccination coverage. Our anxiety Our effort is to implement a policy at all levels, both in terms of the measures and in terms of strengthening the NSS, to withstand this pressure. “We are still at the peak of this wave. We monitor the magnitudes daily and in collaboration with the scientists we do what needs to be done, in order to be able to stop this pressure and pass it with the least possible losses”, pointed out Mr. Economou .

He added: “The way we manage the pandemic is aimed at all citizens and aims to protect everyone. To protect the vaccinated, who following the instructions of science made the vaccine and created the conditions for today to be the economy, society Protect the unvaccinated from infection, which also means a serious illness, and encourage them to get vaccinated. 41,000 new appointments were made yesterday. It has helped in this and the framework of the measures that we have announced, but also the images that our unvaccinated fellow citizens see from those who are in the ICU. 90% of those who are intubated, are unvaccinated. what is needed in order for the country to remain open and at the same time an effort to expand vaccinations in order to limit of the losses of our fellow citizens to the greatest extent possible. ”

However, the government spokesman categorically ruled out any prospect of the economy and society closing down again. He said: “We have a strategy of open economy and society and at the same time, of trying to tame the coronavirus, by expanding the vaccination and strengthening of the Health System. We do not want to deviate from this strategy. We will do everything in our power to “We stay there. We believe that we will be able to move things that way. We do not want society and the economy to close again and will not close again.”

At the same time, referring to the obligation, he stated: “First of all, let us clarify that the health sector has its own special characteristics, which we all recognize. There are about five or six thousand unvaccinated health workers today. Not so many doctors and health workers, but mainly administrative staff. They are vaccinated to get back to work and to strengthen the Health System, too.

And most importantly, nowhere in Europe, nowhere in the world is there an extensive obligation, either in the private or public sector. In the US, the Constitutional Court has ruled that compulsory employment for federal employees is problematic. The emphasis must be on implementing the measures we have. In their adaptation, possibly, depending on the dynamic development of the epidemic. In the expansion of vaccinations and mainly in the strengthening of the National Health System with more beds from the private sector, with ICUs from the private sector, with proper management of the potential that exists in the NSS, by motivating doctors from the private sector to come to the NSS. And of course if it does not work, with their forced mobilization to strengthen the medical staff in the National Health System “.

Turning to the issue of schools, Mr. Economou said that “in schools the reality is that with the design and the framework that we had worked on since the summer, we have managed, so far, to have very satisfactory results. When in September we described how The schools were going to open, most of them said that they would close in a month. testing, measures and protocols implemented, despite the difficulties and adversity, we have very few departments closed compared to 80,000.This is because, obviously the protocols, measures, design, work and I think it is worth it to highlight it “.

Respectively for the means of public transport, the government spokesman stressed: “There are 1,300 buses in Athens today, when in 2019 there were 850 buses. Waiting times have been reduced. There is more regular transport. The same thing is happening on the Electric Railway and the Metro, where the average waiting time is 4.5 to 5 minutes. We face it everywhere, but this is far from accusing us of doing nothing.

We do everything in our power, with whatever tools we have, to comply with the measures. However, putting on a mask when getting on the bus, when you see that there is a lot more people around you, is also a matter of conscience for everyone. The control mechanisms must do their job properly. However, everyone understands that in 1,300 buses, at the same time, they cannot be an inspector. Recently, the framework of measures that we announced and the controls that are carried out have brought results. “By adhering to the measures, proceeding with the vaccinations, we are taking two firm steps to deal with this attack.”

However, the government spokesman also commented on the developments in Northern Macedonia, noting: “As long as these processes are ongoing there, we can not interfere, nor have any comments or views on how things will develop politically in Skopje. On the other hand , everyone knows that one thing is what everyone claims in their domestic political scene – I mean how they perceive that they have to govern in order to build majorities or what to say to the world – and a second thing is how they will behave as an elected head of state, We are, in any case, saying two very basic things:

First of all, it turns out that the government’s decision not to rush to ratify the infamous memoranda was very correct and very serious, in the sense that they are also a mechanism for controlling the Agreement. We obviously did not have in mind that this would happen in Skopje, but we had other indications and other samples, which, in any case, led us to the logic that it would be good to have this tool in our hands as well. It is a “weapon” that the country has in its hands for the control of the Agreement, which it has not dismantled.

The second is that in democracies and states that want to respect what is valid on the international political scene and that participate in international organizations, even when governments change, the basic obligations arising from signatures that have the seal of democracy behind them. and their state, still remain. At the moment, given the developments there, these are the things we need to emphasize and these are the messages we need to send as a country. ”