Statement by the General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL S.Stefanou on yesterday’s government measures

 

25 November 2021, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The government has once again managed to divide, disappoint and anger society. And I say succeeded again because it is an achievement what the government is doing, which already has an accumulated experience from the previous waves of the pandemic and should have drawn lessons from the mistakes it committed so as not to repeat them. Unfortunately, it has repeated them.

First of all, it has announced measures, some of which are contradictory, whilst others are incomprehensible.  At the same time, it is clear that the government has proceeded to announce measures without any sufficient consultation and without publicly outlining the necessary scientific arguments for taking these measures.

The government has announced the measures without any specific effort to inform and encourage people to get vaccinated. What it has done has been done in a way that is not adequate, coherent and targeted.

Moreover, the government has announced measures without ensuring substantial support for public hospitals, which are bearing the decisive burden of dealing with the consequences of the pandemic. It has also announced new measures without foreseeing the announcement of measures to support all those who will be affected by the measures announced.

AKEL is in favour of vaccination and urges people to get vaccinated. At the same time, the rights of everyone, including those who choose not to be vaccinated, should be respected, provided that those who do not vaccinate must also take self-protection measures so that others are not put at risk. One person’s rights go as far as the rights of others are not affected. We are therefore urging people to get vaccinated again – this is the effective weapon against the pandemic, which unfortunately seems to be moving towards a fifth wave.