Coronavirus: Anastasiades urges people to trust science and get vaccinated

President Nicos Anastasiades on Thursday urged people to trust science and get vaccinated against Covid-19, expressing the hope that stricter measures could be avoided as daily infections edge towards the 1,000 mark.

“My appeal, apart from grievances, which everyone has the right to express, is for the largest possible number (of people) to decide that vaccination is our only protection; the only protection from the pandemic, a phenomenon that is taking new dimensions globally, is science,” the president said.

“All those who deny science, do not simply deny the opportunity afforded to them not to get ill, not to transmit, not to lose their people; personal responsibility must now become wider responsibility, social responsibility, for the benefit of the entire population.”

With 883 cases on Wednesday, daily infections appeared poised to break the 1,000 mark before the end of the year while hospitalisations remained high. Authorities said they were not planning to roll out stricter restrictions like lockdowns for the time being.

Anastasides said he hoped the government would not be forced to take such measures.

“It should be taken into account that we are trying in every way for the measures we put in place to protect health and life on one hand, and workers and businesses, and the country’s economy in general on the other.”