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The head of the Emergency Situations Department (DSU), Raed Arafat, said on Friday that the severity of wave 2 of the COVID-19 pandemic will depend on people's reaction to compliance with certain restrictions, accordig to AGERPRES.
"Wave 2, not only us, but also the northern hemisphere, we think it will be during the winter. Now, how hard wave 2 will be depends on us. If we manage to stop the increase, to keep a plateau, to start a a lasting decline, it is clear that we can keep the situation under control, as we kept it in the first wave," said Arafat, in Ciolpani, where the reception of some sanitary materials took place.
He explained that if the rules are not followed, if there are pressures not to take certain measures or restrictions, then "the fight may be much harder and even longer."
"It all depends on how we all work together," the DSU chief said.
Arafat noted that a significant number of tests are currently being performed compared to other countries.
"It has gone up from 3,000 to almost 25-27,000 tests done daily, so capacity has increased, but clearly any additional testing capacity is welcome," he said.
Raed Arafat also said that obtaining much faster tests will be helpful, tests that do not require long-term laboratory operations.
"There is a chance that we will bring rapid antigen tests, which we will use at the front line for symptomatic cases. For asymptomatic cases, however, it remains the general assessment that is made, with the tests en masse," said Arafat.
