"With the end of the state of emergency, our country is not out of the pandemic, absolutely not. We are only in a different management phase. Also as regards the central structure: Commissioner Figliuolo is no longer at the helm, but all the network and the logistic structure that has been marked in recent years remains and is available to the country, ready in case of need ".
Thus the Undersecretary of Health Andrea Costa on Sky Tg24 regarding the end of the state of emergency, scheduled for March 31st. "It is not that we dismantle everything with the end of the emergency. We are still in a pandemic and the virus continues to circulate".
"Today we have to complete the administration of the booster dose for about 7 million Italians - he continued - because it is precisely the third dose that protects us the most from the serious consequences of the disease. Having said that, we must look to the next few weeks with caution and responsibility, but also with confidence because today 92% of the population is vaccinated and this allows us to face the future with greater serenity ".
"The signal to remove the obligation to wear masks is an important signal of trust in those citizens who have respected the rules for two years and have been vaccinated", Costa clarified. As is the case today for outdoor masks, "for which, although there is no obligation, many continue to wear them, so it will happen indoors and at the stadium. In Italians, a sense of self-protection has been born that will be very useful for the next weeks ".
And "with those who say that, with the stadiums 100% open, we must continue to keep them in order not to jeopardize the summer, I disagree - affirms Costa - the data say that we are in a positive phase and we must not prejudice too much the present for fear of tomorrow ".
As for the Ukrainian refugees, according to the undersecretary, it is a situation "that we must monitor every day, but vaccination and reception points have been set up in all regions, where the swab is made and the possibility of administering the vaccine is given. assistance also from a psychological point of view because many people arrive who also need this ".
(Unioneonline / vl)