“The data are weighed daily, and based on what we have in front of us, but also the estimates for the next period, our committee suggested what was the intention and priority of the government from the beginning: to start lifelong learning from the “January 10”, stressed the Undersecretary to the Prime Minister and government spokesman, Giannis Oikonomou, in a television interview with ANT1.
Stressing that the government’s intention was to weigh the data and listen to the experts, he reminded that “and when we started in September, it was the period when we had increased cases. We have taken all the necessary measures so that we have the living operation of the schools which is very important for educational reasons, for social reasons, for psychological reasons. All this is self-evident and people understand it. At the same time, we ensure the health of children, teachers and their relatives as much as possible, through the way we have decided that the schools will function “.
Mr. Oikonomou also clarified that “the government has obviously secured the tests to be given free of charge to children. I remind you that in this phase, as in the whole previous period, we have an extensive program of providing free check-ups to children, vaccinated and unvaccinated, to teachers. In case of a case due to the fact that the transmission of this coronavirus mutation is very fast, there will be a possibility of testing, not only in the children who were sitting near the case, but in the whole department. There will be five free tests per week. Every effort is made so that we have a complete picture, a complete record of what happens in the classrooms every day. This was one of the criteria that led the committee of experts to suggest, and the government to decide, the opening of the schools “.
In fact, the government spokesman stressed that “in a context completely protected and with the tests, we will have a much better picture than we would have if we kept children away from the school environment, in a period when the pandemic is on the rise, without country to be in lockdown. Children are more protected inside the rooms than outside. And this, in addition to the educational benefits, social and psychological, that life education has. With restrained optimism, with ally the experience of the operation of the schools throughout the previous period, the cooperation with the teachers in the implementation of the protocols – which worked and led the schools to work from September to December – we proceed from Monday with care, so that to ensure the lifelong operation of education “.
“There is no country in the world that has such a well-planned and extensive free citizen testing system”
“Few countries in the world have done what our country has done in terms of tests. This is the reality. “Anyone who denies this reality, trying to make an impression with confusion, with excerpts from what is happening in other countries, is offering a very bad service – not to the government, but because it denies the truth,” the government spokesman said.
He stated in detail that “the government has allocated over 300 million euros throughout the previous period for free tests on the population. More than 8.5 million rapid tests and molecular tests have been done only by the services of EODY. They are not included, because it is difficult to count, the millions of free rapid and molecular tests, which were done and are still done by the ESY.
Since last April, 86 million free self-tests have been given to citizens to test their epidemiological status. There is no country in the world that has such a well-planned and extensive free test system for citizens as the Greek government did. Through this system, we were able to locate the vast majority of cases. In schools throughout the previous period, through self tests, we managed and identified 85% of the recorded cases. In the general population, one in five cases could be confirmed through self-tests – these 86 million, excluding rapid and molecular ones. “We did what few countries in the world did to help people detect the virus, and we will continue to do so.”
“We did not leave anyone alone in this pandemic”
Referring to the support of those affected, Mr. Oikonomou said that since last week, “support measures have already been announced for workers who are on suspension of work, due to the measures we have taken to stop the spread of the virus. We have proved all this time that we did not leave anyone alone in this pandemic. 43 billion euros were given to support Greek society, the economic, social and productive fabric of the country in the past. “We are monitoring the development, and whatever reason we need to do in terms of logic for those people who are affected and have lost income due to the restrictions we have imposed, we will do it.”
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