According to information from the Ministry of Health in Serbia, we entered the New Year with 2,192 people positive for the corona virus. It was the peak of that last week, which began with about a thousand fewer patients. Also that week, an omicron strain, a new mutation of the coronavirus that spreads faster than the previous ones, was registered in Serbia.
And yet, in Serbia, unlike other metropolises, New Year 2022 was celebrated in an organized and massive manner.
According to the police estimate, 20 thousand people were waiting in front of the National Assembly in Belgrade alone. Another reception was organized in Belgrade, on the Promenade, where the pubs were packed. According to the estimates of the Communal Police, around 100.000 people from around the world came to Belgrade, with the intention that if they can't do it in their own country, they will celebrate the New Year outdoors.
Niš residents celebrated the New Year in pubs, and for those who wanted to celebrate outdoors, a concert was organized on the town square. The welcome in Novi Sad was a kind of announcement of the Welcome on January 13, when Novi Sad will become the capital of culture, so it was specially illuminated in honor of its first fellow citizen, Nikola Tesla.
In Vrnjačka Banja, over 20 people welcomed the New Year on the square, while it is estimated that there were more than 50 in Zlatibor.
Epidemiological measures were not respected in any place where it was celebrated. Hardly anyone wore masks, and physical distance between people was almost non-existent. The measure of the Crisis Staff on the ban on outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people - long forgotten.
The crisis headquarters did not give an answer to the question of who gave permission to cities and catering establishments to organize mass receptions. The mayor of Belgrade and doctor Zoran Radojicic explained that "epidemiology is a modern science" and that today's epidemiologists are not like those from the 19th and 20th centuries, and that old methods such as confinement for several months are not functional. According to his words, we "have clear information" that micron causes less severe forms.
Virologist Milanko Shekler warns that after the holidays, a drastic increase in newly infected people caused by the "delta" strain, which is still dominant in Serbia, can be expected, which would be a "more dangerous scenario" than the one where Omicron dominates.
Dr. Predrag Kon, epidemiologist and member of the Crisis Staff, describes the current epidemiological situation as threatening, and states that the number of infected people in Belgrade has increased over the last four days compared to the previous week, and the same applies to Serbia. "Accordingly, we have a clear observation that the fifth wave or the second peak of the fifth wave is beginning." He says that considering that people from abroad came to Serbia, this was expected.
During the next ten days, Christmas and Serbian New Year celebrations await us, and soon we will know the epidemiological consequences of the authorities' decision to allow and organize this year's celebration, which has just begun.
SP/Blic
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