Smatana banged on the table: Compromises were enough, you don’t mean that! We have only two options to choose from – Topky.sk

According to the latest information, there should be a tough lockdown from Thursday, the government should also approve the state of emergency. It is anticipated that the closure of the country should take two weeks and the vaccinated should have some relief. However, the government also intends to completely close some areas of the economy – such as the hotel industry, gastronomy sector, accommodation facilities and fitness centers. Schools should not close. For example, President Zuzana Čaputová, as well as many paramedics, also asked for a lockdown.

Archive VIDEO Emotional speech of President Čaputová: We are losing the fight with COVID! We need a lockdown

However, Martin Smatana, an analyst and former head of the Institute for Health Policy, claims that compromises have already been enough. “Personally, I prefer to resolve conflicts by agreement, compromise or some form of joint solution. However, in managing the pandemic, compromises cost us hundreds if not thousands of lives and countless sums of money. I don’t have to mention the “brides, it will be good” from last autumn or the Christmas “bubbles”. When politics and the search for political compromises come into the work of epidemiologists and infectologists, it ends up tragically for all of us. “ Smatana said on the social network, adding that he was also frightened by the news that the coalition was looking for a compromise on what a lockdown might look like.

According to him, we are in an extremely bad situation and suddenly have to solve two big problems. The first can be solved with a lockdown, the second is a system one, and the lockdown could make it even worse. “We need a tough lockdown, otherwise our hospitals will soon collapse. We know from experience from previous waves that if we don’t want the lockdown to last, it has to be strict. No exceptions or compromises and valid for everyone to make it easy to control. A few weeks will suffice for a significant decrease in the positive and (over time) hospitalized. However, if a lockdown is introduced and vaccinations are not increased in the population, we have relieved hospitals, but the sharp increases and hospitalizations will return. ” Smatana warned.

Source: TASR / AP

We have only two options

However, as he stated, it is true that in recent days, indecisive people have seen an increased interest in vaccinations. This is also proved by numbers from vaccination centers, which break records for several months. Therefore, according to Smatan, we have two options – either after the lockdown, to release measures only for the vaccinated or overcome, which would be a stricter version of the current measures, or to introduce mandatory vaccination for at-risk people, ie people over 60 years. Smatana is of the opinion that it would be the most effective solution that would save the most lives and money.

Source: FB / Martin Smatana

“I am afraid that the first option will work, but not to a sufficient extent, because according to the latest Focus survey, up to 66% of the unvaccinated are not going to the dose at all. If we want to avoid hundreds of deaths and recurring lockdowns, we will most likely not avoid compulsory vaccination. The later it is introduced, the fewer people and companies and sole traders we will save. “Political agreements, compromises and the fear of putting in place the necessary measures have significantly contributed to bringing us back to the brink.” Smatana said that whether it would be short, effective and not repeated would depend on the government’s willingness to introduce unpopular measures. According to Smatana, it should not be forgotten that the virus does not compromise and uses every hole in the measures.