On Friday, the likely future Health Minister, Vlastimil Válek (TOP 09), urged people not to meet unnecessarily during Christmas and limit their contacts. He said Christmas is a holiday of peace, not shopping and visiting shopping centers. They should also get vaccinated as they expect the more contagious omicron mutation to spread.
“Let us take advantage of Christmas, which is, and I stress this, a holiday of peace and tranquility. It is not a holiday of shopping and visiting shopping malls. Do not seek out social contacts. Let us use it (Christmas) to limit the spread of the virus in the population and enter the New Year with the as little virus as possible. Even so, the omicron mutation awaits us, ” Válek appealed to the public.
At the same time, Válek appealed to people to get vaccinated. For those already eligible for the third dose, he recommended that they take it.
“If you want to protect your loved ones, then wear veils in public areas, even though it may not be mandated. A veil is the best way to protect your surroundings. We want to make sure there are no restrictions on teaching, and that is my priority. We want children to be able to go to school. We want education to be of good quality, which can only be when teaching is offline. That is something that every one of us can help to achieve,” he added further advice.
Válek linked his recommendations to the emergence and expected spread of the more contagious omicron mutation, which has already been picked up domestically by several laboratories. Adherence to the above should help reduce the viral load in the community, and it may also help prepare for the spread of the variant.
“Omikron is a mutation that is more infectious than the delta mutation. And it will very likely prevail at some point. We don’t have enough information about it, so we need to prepare for it, and we will be prepared. I can promise and guarantee that, ” Válek assured.
Earlier, in resignation, Adam Vojtěch (ANO), the minister of health, appealed to the citizens. On Thursday, he even issued a decalogue for behavior during Christmas. People should not hold Christmas parties because of the lousy epidemic situation. For example, they should limit their meetings or take preventive tests. He said if people decide to have a visit or a meeting, it would be better to meet in outdoor areas. For example, it should be done with as few people as possible.