First meeting is the Committee for Coordinating and Rating the Situation of COVID-19

The Committee for Co-ordination and Rating of the outlook with COVID-19 has held its first meeting.

The prime minister, Albin Kurti, at the opening of the meeting, has spoken about the risk of the Delta variant and because of its specific characteristics, he submitted some specific requests to the Committee.

The prime minister said that each person infected with this option infects an average of seven others. For this reason, he asked members of the Committee to be as strict as possible in controlling respect for the masses as well as in punishing their violators.

Like other strains of the virus, the Delta version is spread mainly through super-proliferation events. The prime minister instructed members of the Committee to focus mainly on new arrangements in places and environments where these super-proliferation events are more likely to occur, such as restaurants, bars and locals, gyms and trains, public transportation, especially indoor transportation, with no mask, shopping centres with maskless customers, weddings, parties and mortal ceremonies contrary to government arrangements.

“In order to implement measures as punctual as possible, I request that you use all available inspection resources, including AWV inspectors, MINT inspectors (especially market inspectors), municipal inspectors and Kosovo Police”, the prime minister told members of the Committee.

Committee chairman, Health Minister Arben Vitita, said that the results of the 16 August reviews by the “Robbert Coch” Institute in Germany sent I The KSHP for seized samples showed that Kosovo dominated the Delta variant and its rapid distribution led to the number of infected 20 double within a very short period.

Minister Vitita briefed on the current situation in hospitals and the performance of the vaccine process.

“We are conservative that only vaccines stop repeating a new wave, even after that wave. But until citizens are vaccinated to the extent of forming a collective immunity, we, despite the economic challenges we may have, the public health of citizens should and will be the top priority”, Minister Vitita said.

Interior Minister Jhelal Svecla announced that Kosovo Police have been mobilised in monitoring the implementation of the measures, and from today the Kosovo Police Inspectorate, which will oversee the fulfillment of the police's obligations through monitoring of members of police in relation to measures undertaken by the Kosovo government.

Now every police official has begun to distribute the copy of the law for individuals and the government's final decision so that each of them can be informed of this law and this decision. The implementation of the decision to extend working hours for police officials from 8 to 12 hours” has also started, Minister Svechla said.

Industry, Intervention and Trade Minister Roseta Hajdari urged better co-operation among AUV inspectors, market and municipal inspectors.

The Committee for Co-ordination and assessment of the situation with the COVIID-19 pandemic was established yesterday, with a decision by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo by August 30, 2021. The committee consists of 27 members who are representatives of various state and government institutions and bodies and is headed by the Minister of Health, Mr. Arben Vitia.

Prime Minister Kurti's full speech:

Pardje has entered into force new measures for preventing and fighting the Corona virus. These measures are necessary to bring the epidemic situation under control in the country. Yet, to be sufficient to achieve that purpose, these measures cannot be left on paper alone. In order for them to be effective, they must also be implemented with precision. It depends not on me, but on you: How successful these measures will be, the members of this committee and the institutions that you lead.

In the Delta version, we have a strong, dangerous, unpredictable enemy. Because of some specific features of this version, I have some special requirements for this Committee.

First, variant Delta is characterized by an extremely high reproductive number: On average, seven other individuals are infected with this option. Therefore, there is no room for error in implementing new measures. We have no room for tolerance or for understanding their offenders. For this reason, I ask the members of this commission to be as strict as possible in controlling respect for the measures as well as in punishing their violators.

Second, variant Delta has an extremely short serial interval: Each person infected has only 2.5 days of infection. Only 2.5 days! This means that variant Delta spreads like fire: Every 2.5 days, the number of infected people multiplied. In five days, one person can infect another 56. So I ask you not to miss a moment. Every day, every hour, every minute late, costs people their lives. We have no time to waste in implementing these measures.

Third, variant Delta, like the following variants, spreads mainly through super-proliferation events: only 20% of the infected cause 80% of infection. This means that, in implementing new measures, you have to focus mainly on places and environments where these super-proliferation events are more likely to happen, as they are:

The restaurants, bars, and locals that, contrary to the masses, use more than 70% of space, that do not respect the distance between the tables, or where their <x0 open section” is actually closed;

What's the point?

Public transportation, especially intervendiary transportation, with maskless travelers;

) Trade centers with masked customers;

Keeping weddings, parties, and funerals in opposition

Government measures.

Moreover, in order to implement measures as punctual as possible, I ask you to use all available inspection resources, including AUV inspectors, MINT inspectors (especially market inspectors), municipal inspectors and Kosovo Police. I request that you be co-ordinated, to draw up a clear action plan for sharing inspection work among you, using all possible links in your institutions.

Recently, I request from this Commission a daily report on the actions undertaken to implement the measures every day until 13 September.