Health Minister Michel Chebat: COVID-19 ‘A pandemic of everybody’

Published by BBNTEAM at October 18, 2021

Posted: Monday, October 18, 2021. 2:32 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: Minister of Health Michel Chebat, appearing on Channel 5’s Open Your Eyes this morning, declared that the COVID-19 pandemic is ‘a pandemic of everybody’ – of children, potentially taking the virus home to their families; of middle-aged persons, socializing and partying after work hours; of older persons, unable to be shielded from the worst effects. Poverty and malnutrition play a critical role too, he said.

The results of the two-week ‘fire break’ implemented earlier this month has been projected to be successful to a limited extent, said Chebat: the percentages of positive tests at the flu clinics is down from between 50 to 60 percent in September to 30 percent at this time, but it all depends on human behaviour. But the peak of the virus is yet to hit, perhaps at the end of the month after data has been entered by the Ministry.

The Minister allowed that he thought the tighter measures could and should have gone for longer, but he had to weigh the interest of reducing effects of the pandemic and encouraging economic development, supported by a solid medical team.

Handwashing, social distancing and mask-wearing continue to be our best tools to fight the virus, but vaccination has worked well, the Minister continued, with more than 200 thousand now with at least one dose of the vaccine, many children 12 to 17.

And as that number increases, the Minister said, the less there is a likelihood of the country going to full lockdown.

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