ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AT THE ROTARY CLUB, NICOSIA - 'The war against Covid-19. Navigating in unchartered waters'

21-07-2020 21:31

Address of the Minister of Health, Mr Constantinos Ioannou, at the event of the Rotary Club of Nicosia-Lefkothea

“The war against COVID-19, Navigating in unchartered waters” It is a distinct pleasure for me to join you today in this special event that brings us together after a long time of social distancing and strict measures due to COVID-19 pandemic. I would like to take this opportunity and thank the Rotary Club of Nicosia-Lefkothea for putting together this event, giving me the opportunity to stand back and take stock of what Cyprus has achieved over the last six months. In these unpresented times, the world faced an invisible ruthless enemy. We all stood united in a common goal of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic limiting its devastating impact on global health, economies and social order. From the outset of the pandemic Cyprus has closely followed recommendations from WHO and the ECDC. As of mid-January, we received the first report from WHO and ECDC with initial information about the epidemic outbreak in China. Although at the time this was not considered a major threat and no-one could foresee that it would develop into a pandemic, we re-activate the Epidemiological Monitoring Unit. I specifically asked the members of the Unit to re-evaluate our action plan from Embola and take stock at Personal Protective Equipment. In a weekly basis, we had meetings to assess the situation and all the information from the countries with active epidemic and, by identifying the obstacles that caused difficulties in our strategy, we took the necessary actions to improve the action plan. We acted proactively and this saved us time and resources. At the same time, through teleconferences, I established communication with the Director of the ECDC and the EU Commissioner for Health, while I was in close contact with my European counterparts. From the very beginning, ECDC evaluated the danger and gave scaled guidelines on how the countries should act, based on factors such as the number of cases, etc. Cyprus, early on, implemented those measures as if there were recorded cases in the country. Based on the 4-pillar strategy of the ECDC, we adjusted our action plan and prepared for the worst-case scenario. Firstly, we placed emphasis on educating the public on the new coronavirus. We soon established a mechanism and explained to the public the steps they should take when seeking medical advice. By opening helplines for the public and through a communication campaign, we told people which are the symptoms of the virus, who to contact if they have any of those symptoms, why they should stay in self-quarantine after a trip, etc. Also, we sent newsletters by email, through GeSY’s system. At the same time, with the help of the newly-established GeSY, we engaged health professionals. We brought on board General Practitioners and other health professionals, such as ICU doctors and nurses, to educate them on how they should deal with patients. Information and guidelines were distributed to doctors by email and health professionals in public hospitals were trained to work in ICUs in case of emergency. Also, we proceeded with the establishment of Public Health Clinics for assessment and management of suspect cases of COVID-19, which helped health professionals deal with their patients. Also, as of February, we took measures at our entry points monitoring passengers according to their country of origin, based on the guidelines of WHO and ECDC. It’s worth-mentioning that Cyprus was one of the countries that applied strict measures at the airports earlier than necessary, long before WHO called SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic. We realized early on that we needed the advice of the experts, so in early March we called on doctors, scientists and academics of various specialties and set up an Advisory Committee that, together with the Epidemiological Unit, contributed in monitoring the course of the pandemic worldwide and advise the Government on the next steps. When the first two imported cases of COVID-19 were identified on March 9th, as of today 1.038 total cases have been reported. Nearly 85% of these cases (approximately 850) have recovered, 19 deaths have occurred due to COVID-19, while no patient was hospitalized in the ICUs for over a month now (19 June). We declared a state of emergency on mid-March and allocated 100 million euros emergency fund for strengthening of our healthcare system. At the same time, we imposed strict lockdown measures that restricted the movement of people. People felt upset because of those restrictions, which we expected to happen. We had to be honest with them and we put great emphasis on explaining them, why we imposed those measures and the reasons they should adhere. At this time, we shifted our communication strategy, to explain citizens the reasons of the lockdown and kept reminding them what they should do when they are in need of healthcare services or how to practise personal hygiene measures. Our policy from the very beginning was to test early, contact trace and isolate the positive cases. Cyprus has one of the highest uses of diagnostic testing with more than 20.00 per 100.000 people. Great emphasis throughout this period was also placed in the rapid identification of new cases through early testing and active contact tracing,  as recommended in ECDC’s 4-pillar strategy. During lockdown, we engaged in an aggressive strategy of actively testing large groups of the population. We engaged in random sampling and testing of the population, but also the front-line workers and healthcare professionals and vulnerable groups, through various programs, at the state’s expense, having examined approximately 80 thousand citizens. Besides the contact tracing process that still runs since the outbreak of the pandemic in Cyprus, special groups of the population, such as patients prior their operation, pregnant women, prisoners, migrants, etc, are being tested, in an effort to eliminate the possibilities of spreading the virus within hospitals, prisons, and other facilities, and also eradicate the virus from the community. During the lockdown period and when the epidemiological data were favourable, together with the Ministries of Finance and Labor, we drew up the strategy for the gradual lifting of restrictions. To prevent a new outbreak, ECDC and the European Commission issued a general plan with guidelines on how to restart, inter alia, economies, traveling and businesses. Based on that general strategy and the epidemiological trends internally, each country could build its own national policy to steadily exit the health crisis. In this line, Cyprus continues its successful policy of massive testing of the population. The progressive opening of the areas of the economy and the targeted re-opening to travellers from other countries helps us better monitor epidemiological indicators and adjust our strategy if needed. We’d rather restart our economy in a slower pace than take big steps and lose control of the situation. Looking back, we are proud of what we have achieved so far in containing the pandemic. We could certainly do better in addressing specific issues, but we should always take into consideration that no country globally had the means or the knowledge to deal with the pandemic at its early stages. Our success in dealing with this pandemic was a result, first of all, of the strong political commitment to take robust and proactive measures in line with WHO and ECDC guidance to protect citizens from the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, we placed great emphasis on continuous monitoring of Personal Protective Equipment and controlling and procuring stock, equipment and necessary consumables and we actively trained staff in the proper use of PPE. We took measures to increase the capacity of healthcare system through mobilising staff, decree of requisition for health professionals from the private sector and cancelled all elective surgical procedures and designation of one hospital, General Hospital for COVID-19 patients. We created a new Intensive Care Unit in Nicosia and we improved the infrastructure in the existing ones. All these measures gave us time to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Fortunately, the early tracing of the cases and their isolation prevented the spread of the virus in the community, and allowed our healthcare system to address the situation with the minimum possible losses. Distinguished friends, We plan with a sense of guarded optimism keeping in mind that COVID-19 is a new highly transmissible infection in a population with low immunity. Some of the measures are still in place and there will continue to be until the scientific community develop a safe and effective vaccine. We eagerly wait for the outcomes of clinical trials. We shall continue practising personal hygiene and protective measures, as well as social distancing, to limit the possibility of spreading the virus within the general population. Dealing with the pandemic was a war against an invisible enemy. All Governments around the world navigated in unchartered waters, and Cyprus was not an exception. Under the leadership of the President of the Republic, the Cabinet had to take difficult and painful decisions. There was no successful action plan to base our policies on and, therefore, we had to be flexible to adjust our strategy at all times. It was clear to everyone in the Government that we had to ensure our people’s health was protected at all costs. What happened in many other countries, far more advanced and with better healthcare systems than Cyprus, was not an option for us. We were criticized for being overly strict and unfair as regards the measures we implemented. I assure you that it was not easy neither for the President nor myself or any other member of the Cabinet. We spent long hours trying to make the best decision, bearing in mind that we primarily needed to protect the Public Health. I have no regrets, even now, on how we addressed this health crisis and the measures we imposed. We still implement strict restrictions, especially regarding social events. We need to be in line with other countries and we have to remain prepared in view of a new outbreak. No cure or vaccine is yet available and, therefore, the recommendations of all competent world and European Organizations advocate for gradual and targeted lifting of the restrictions. Once again, I would like to reaffirm the Government’s readiness to address a new outbreak. We monitor the developments worldwide and we update our strategy, aiming, of course, at having the minimum impact both to our patients and the healthcare system. (MKY)