Extraordinary government plan: New Year’s Eve only with rapid test for closed spaces

By Dimitris Gatsios

The cube was torn down and just twenty-four hours before Christmas the government is preparing to make emergency announcements for further measures. Measures that will aim at delaying the spread of the new “Omicron” executive and… entrenching a period, with strong signs of synchronicity and social gatherings.

In the next few hours, therefore, the scenario of the mandatory rapid test is expected to be triggered, so that the vaccinated citizens or those who have a disease certificate have the opportunity to enter indoor catering and entertainment areas, at the expense of themselves. The only questions that can be clarified with the government announcements are whether this intervention will only concern New Year’s Eve or even the two days of Christmas and whether the obligation of the negative test will apply to other interiors except the restaurant and entertainment. Like, for example, theaters, where, in addition to the fact that they are addressed only to the vaccinated, there is another safety valve. That of using a mask.

“We are only considering measures for those who, on New Year’s Eve or Christmas Eve, will see what the Commission will probably say on New Year’s Eve, except that only vaccinated people will be allowed to go indoors if they have to. “They are also equipped with the results of the rapid test. On that day, crowding indoors will be an additional risk for someone to get sick or if they get sick to spread it to the rest of the community. It will not be a general measure, but temporary, extraordinary.” , noted (Mega) the government spokesman, Giannis Oikonomou. According to information, in the… table of discussions, the possibility was considered for the entry of the vaccinated or those who have a certificate of disease to take place through a negative molecular test. However, the difficulties of implementing such an intervention and, in fact, a few days before the official festive period, ruled out such a scenario.

“What we wanted was for a test to be done on the whole population, to see the real picture. While we called the world, unfortunately there was not the response we would like during the weeks of free testing. So, in that sense, the “to be able at some point to have an overall epidemiological picture of the country, both for the vaccinated and for the unvaccinated, is something that we are examining and discussing”, noted (Sky) the Minister of Health, Thanos Plevris. The eyes, however, focus on the messages that Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to send, during his speech at today’s cabinet meeting, at a time when developments on the Covid-19 front and the “Omicron” mutation of the pandemic virus are holding government and specialists in κατάσταση alarm state. What, however, still excludes in all tones executives is the possibility of a new lockdown in the country that would put… vise on society and the course of the economy. “There is no such suggestion and there is no thought at the moment about universal restraint measures. Anything that needs to be done with point interventions or other horizontal measures, but not universal restraints, is something that will be evaluated depending on the dynamics of its evolution. “” Omicron “, now, in our country”, said, during the briefing of the journalists, Mr. Economou.

There are currently no decisions on a new package (other than today’s announcements). However, no one can rule out the… quiver of interventions to be filled immediately after the end of the festive season and with other moves, depending on the developments in “Omicron”. And in this context, there is talk of universal use of the mask in all outdoor areas, but also the imposition of hours in catering and entertainment. In any case, any plans depend on the extent of the cycle of the new mutation, which is already hitting Europe, testing the resilience of health systems.