Kon: I'm not satisfied. We demanded total closure after 5 pm and ban on gatherings

Photo: Tanjug/Sava Radovanovic

A member of the Crisis HQ, epidemiologist Dr. Predrag Kon, spoke this morning for TV Prva about the latest decision made on Wednesday, the introduction of Covid passes.

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Kon welcomed the measures, but also said:

"I am not satisfied, not because I am prone to dissatisfaction as a person, but because I think that these measures will not be enough.

We asked for everything that is not essential to be closed after 5 pm. And that public gatherings be banned after that time," Kon said about the stance of the medical part of the Crisis HQ.

"Also a member of the HQ and and epidemiologist I welcome the passes. This will be applied primarily in nightclubs. It is primarily a technical matter.

It's important that education and preparation has been done of all inspectors and the communal police that will work on checking them. What matters is tighter controls, said Kon. He stressed that it was insisted that those violating the rule should be publicly named.

He said he was personally skeptical that the first effects of the introduction of Covid passes will be seen soon, because they are introduced for establishments after 10 pm.

"We have a situation where we are facing the season of family patron saint celebrations, the winter, the months when this virus is very active. For at least two weeks ahead of us the situation will be similar to how it is now."

Now over 20 percent positive cases are people under the age of 20, the number used to be a lot smaller, which indicates that the virus has descended sharply into the population of school children, and we've unfortunately had a fatal outcome. He could not say that improvement is expected.

"That is why I think that the question was well asked whether to introduce online classes."

He stressed that it depends on the data and the educational system.

"The data says children are primarily infected by their parents and brought to schools.

The engine of every epidemic are collectives," he pointed out - sports, work, and now we had celebrations, weddings, where the virus is spreading rapidly.

A session of the Crisis HQ for suppression of the coronavirus virus epidemic was held yesterday, when a decision was made to introduce Covid passes in Serbia.

The decree on the introduction of the Covid certificate should be adopted at today's session of the Government.

Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabic said after the meeting that the situation was disastrous and was not calming down.

"From 10 pm on Saturday, we are introducing Covid passes indoors in all hospitality establishments. From October 23, at 10 pm, you will not be able to stay indoors in a hospitality establishment without a Covid pass," the prime minister stressed.

She added that Covid stewards will check Covid passes, and that they will be able to control the entrance to premises when they are shown a personal ID by the person entering.

As she explained, upon entering the establishment, a Covid stewards or an inspector will scan the QR code from your Covid certificate.

"Covid passes are not just about vaccines. A valid Covid certificate with which you will be able to stay in a hospitality establishment is a confirmation of receiving the second or the third dose, which is not older than 7 months," she explained.

If you do not want to get vaccinated, but want to be indoors in these places, you need to have a negative PCR test that is not older than 72 hours.

"A negative antigen test is another option, but it is valid for only 48 hours," the prime minister pointed out.

Also, she said that the certificate will be valid if you recovered from Covid in the last 7 months - after that, it is not safe to be in restaurants, cafes and other establishments.

(Telegraf.rs)