Editorial: Vigilance needed in dealing with Covid-19

Greece right now sadly holds the record of the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 in Europe.

The answer of the competent authorities is that this is not the true picture, as Greece records Covid-19 as the cause of death of all people who were infected with the virus, even if the true cause was not related to the infection.

It is problematical to be unable to make evaluations and to safely draw conclusions based on the data.

Yet, even if we accept, in order to facilitate the discussion, that Greece’s record high number of deaths is not of great import, we cannot turn a blind eye to reality.

Given the fact that typical measures, such as the wearing of masks and checking vaccination and illness certificates, have been abandoned for so long, one wonders how easy it will be to reinstate them if the need arises.

The pandemic is still with us, infections in popular tourist destinations are on the rise, the virus is mutating, and scientific papers have already begun recording the long-term effects on those who have fallen ill.

Let us be honest.

Undoubtedly, in the first phase of the pandemic the correct decisions were taken.

Yet, we hastily opted for a “return to normalcy”, prompted by the major boom in Greece’s “heavy industry” – tourism.

Politics, however, is judged by its long-term results.

Meanwhile, we are all obliged to protect ourselves with precautionary measures and not to underestimate the dangers that still constitute a threat to public health.