TIRANA – People should not be kept indoors in a complete lockdown, has said a senior official of the opposition Democratic Party (DP) who calls on the government officials for allowing citizens to be in direct contact with the nature as a weapon against coronavirus.
Tritan Shehu, a former health minister, said in a FB post on Monday that extended exposure to sunlight and sea can destroy Covid-19 and boost people’s immunity, weakening the epidemic’s strength. In these conditions, he requires that the citizens be given the opportunity to benefit as much as possible from these “medicines” in the beaches, parks, rivers, lakes, and forests.
“Don’t keep making mistakes, the sun, the water, the air and the Albanian nature must be used against Covid- 19. Our country is in a favorable geographical position for this, as it is called “helio and hydro therapy”, especially now that we have entered the season of sunshine and heat,” pointed out Shehu.
Albanians, especially the children and the elderly, have been kept since March 9 in total quarantine with the exception of exit permits on the last two weekends for a few hours.
According to the advice of the former minister, natural ‘medicines’ like beaches, parks, rivers, lakes, and forests can be beneficial for citizens. He also sees this as a way to reduce crowds of residents in cities or in closed family environments. “These risk becoming the main source of contamination,” he said. Shehu reiterated his concern over the lack of sufficient tests which, according to him, could make possible to know better the situation of the epidemic and take measures according to the estimations.
“It is the duty of state institutions not to keep citizens trapped because of the lack of their vision, but to urgently make these rules public by creating guaranteed conditions for implementation, without becoming an obstacle to the use of this opportunity, which God or Nature has given Albanians,” said Shehu.
On Monday a number of economic activities resumed and movement of people has been eased, but specialists and local authorities warn that the relevant protocols including social distancing should be applied strictly for preventing a new wave of the pandemic. /argumentum.al
