"Covid lockdowns were unjustified": Tiodorovic reveals what he thinks today about all the pandemic measures

Photo: ATA Images

Epidemiologist Dr. Branislav Tiodorovic said today, on the third anniversary of the introduction of an emergency situation in Serbia due to the Covid pandemic, that from a historical distance it can be said that the lockdowns were unjustified, but that all anti-epidemic measures were necessary in certain situations.

Recommended

Asked whether all the decisions and strict measures taken during the pandemic were justified, Tiodorovic told Tanjug that it is necessary to take into account the time and situation in which they were introduced.

"No one in the world was sure about the source of the disease, the ways of transmission and spread, as well as the necessity of protection and self-protection measures. At the same time, therapy was 'moving' a lot and was being perfected along the way, that is, with the development of the disease and the epidemiological situation," said Tiodorovic, who was a member of the Crisis HQ since the beginning of the pandemic.

He added that from the start of the pandemic, it was clear to everyone that it had some characteristics of previous ones, but that on a much larger scale it had become not only a health problem, but also a sociological, psychological, economic and political problem.

Tiodorovic recalled that coronavirus showed exceptional mutagenicity, which would lead to sudden changes and worsening of the epidemiological situation, adding that with the invention of vaccines, their improvement and the production of better drugs, the situation was put under control, and the newer mutants and sub-strains became less deadly.

"That does not apply to the current situation when it comes to elderly people with serious chronic diseases, and for them this is still a dangerous and even a deadly virus," Tiodorovic warned.

Asked what he thinks about the protocols of the World Health Organization (WHO) that persist, despite an increasing number of countries lifting restrictions, Tiodorovic explained that they are adapted in different countries depending on the current epidemiological situation.

He recalled that in our country, measures are in force which are dominant even in developed healthcare systems - masks in health and social welfare institutions, which are recommended for chronic patients.

Tiodorovic assessed that the Covid pandemic will be getting weaker and weaker and take on an endemic form similar to the flu, so that there will be more present in the periods of late fall and winter. In addition to vaccination, there will also be measures for the most vulnerable people such as the elderly and the chronically ill.

An emergency situation was introduced in Serbia on March 15, 2020, in order to prevent the spread of coronavurs, and members of the Serbian Assembly lifted it on May 6, after more than 50 days.

Special measures were introduced, including closing schools, restricting movement of elderly people, recommending self-isolation, and limiting opening hours of restaurants, cafes...

The period of the pandemic was also marked by a ban on gatherings, mandatory wearing of protective masks, Covid passes, curfews, required proof of vaccination, fines for breaking the rules.

In the three years of the pandemic, Serbia went from the first officially confirmed case of infection to a total of 2,496,295 cases, according to official data.

(Telegraf.rs)