TIRANA – In a shift from avoiding any comment on the impact of the dangerous spread of COVID-19 across Albania, there are two days in a row that PM Edi Rama has made healthcare his focus.
“We have a big public challenge. This is not a battle that only takes place in the hospital, but everyone has to follow the annoying but simple rules,” Rama has said announcing that there would not be a second lockdown.
On Tuesday and Wednesday he called on citizens to respect the measures taken against COVID-19, while ruling out the possibility of a second closure.
“The virus has not come to escape for three weeks, nor four weeks, nor after four months, but it is with us for a period that we do not know how long it will last,” said Rama who as it can be noticed does not speak of war situation against the virus when the pandemic has really taken deadly proportions with rising fatalities and infections.
As a matter of fact the war is being waged now with heavy casualties in Albania ranked as the hotspot of COVID-19 in Europe. As of August 25 the death toll stands at 259.
Instead of ‘war’ wages PM has promised increase of salaries for medical staff next year, the construction of a new hospital next year and anti-C19 vaccine when it is available.
Regional countries like North Macedonia and Serbia have made public their pledges to their respective citizens to get the vaccine expectedly by the end of this year. The reports have revealed that Skopje will get it through Poland while Belgrade from a ‘true friend’, which as analysts say, hints Russia which has officially announced the approval for use of the first vaccine in the world called ‘Sputnik’.
Against this background the Health Ministry raised the alarm on Wednesday that all indicators of the pandemic are alarming in Albania. As Dr. Gentiana Qirjako from the Institute of Public Health said in its daily update Wednesday’s balance sheet was 4 fatalities and 168 new infections over the last 24 hours./argumentum.al
