Citizens' intense interest in COVID-19 tests, second centre opens in Pristina

With the number of cases increasing with COVID-19, a new centre for testing in Pristina's municipality has opened. According to Health Director Izet Sadiku, this new centre has opened after the interest of a large number of citizens in testing.

As the number of infected people increases, so has staff workers for service with COVID-19. According to the health director, interest in the fourth dose is greater, compared to other doses.

He says there must be more sensationalising campaigns to be vaccinated by central institutions.

“I have visited the Family Medicine Centre at “Gemail Ibish”, where it is open and today we have started at 8:00, it is the second centre for testing in Pristina's Komuna. There was the interest of citizens, that was why even though we've opened a second centre, given that we've had, on average, over 300 citizens on average, doing tests at the family medical trials center at the student center. We have decided to create a greater opportunity, given the extent of the city, to create an opportunity for some of the citizens to be closer to”, he said.

According to him, as the number of infected has increased, so has the work volume. While currently out of 63 health workers, 27 have resulted in positive results, which are in isolation.

I'm sure you're... It's been removed from that staff that's been a sponsor for vaccination and COVID, and we have now increased the number has had to send some of the staff to serve COVID, except for the vaccine, then the test now that we've increased the test staff. We also have our doctors, nurses who are engaged in the Family Medicine Center, are already in charge, except for routine visits, have a number of patients for 20 or 30 of visiting patients are now suspicious persons or with COVIDD-19. This has increased the volume of the jobs of the health workers, in reality when this is added to the period that we are in a summer period where people are forced to end their holidays because two years of health workers have been without a vacation. There's also a number of staff, which is infected and isolated, right now we have 27 health workers in isolation because they have resulted in positive COVID-19, out of 63 in the past few months. And all of this makes it difficult to provide services, given that we continue to provide other services that give the Family Medicine Centres in Pristina”, he said.

He said interest in the fourth dose is greater, compared to other doses, but low compared to the population in the country.

“The interest for the fourth dosage is more than for other doses, but it's still small. We averaged for last week after about 30 doses a day taken in Pristina and this is a very small number, given that 45 % of the population are vaccinated”, he said.

Sadiku added that the vaccine is the best form for preventing or introducing COVID-19 pandemics, while calling on central institutions to conduct more sensational campaigns to convince citizens to be vaccinated.

It would take citizens to vaccinate because the vaccine has changed the situation to COVID-19. The only measure to bring me into control of the COVID-19 pandemic would be to vaccinate citizens, so I think it should appeal to people and then sensationalising campaigns, which invite and convince citizens to vaccinate”, he said. / KP/