Prof. Sarigiannis – If there is a universal lockdown from January 3, it will last a month

The new Omicron variant, which has also appeared in Greece, has caused a red alert to the government and experts, as scientists predict that in the coming days it is very likely that there will be a large dispersion in the community.

Despite the fact that the government seems to “exorcise” the lockdown in all tones, it seems that it leaves a window for new measures after the new year in case it is required due to the Omicron variant.

The professor of Environmental Engineering of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Demosthenes Sarigiannis, speaking this morning on 102 FM, expressed his confidence that the country will not avoid the universal lockdown because of Omicron.

As Mr. Sarigiannis stated, all the facts converge that the problem will come very quickly and will be very big.

“If there is a universal lockdown from January 3, it will last a month, if we reach the 16th of the month, when we estimate that the cases will be again 6,000 per day, then it will go until March,” he said characteristically – and very specifically – emphasizing at the same time that he speaks with great certainty.

By New Year, Omicron will represent 50% of the cases

“By the New Year, the Omicron mutation will represent more than 50% of the cases in our country”, he pointed out, clarifying that already the de-escalation in the cases and the hospitalizations that we observed lately from yesterday shows reversal tendencies.

He estimated that the problem will be large in the first phase in Larissa, Chania, Sitia and Athens, something that will accelerate the spread of Omicron.

“Do not open schools on January 10”

As for schools, Mr. Sarigiannis said that they should not open on January 10 and at the same time revealed that in many private schools the tests for e-learning have already started again. In the same spirit, he underlined that it would be a criminal mistake to take the first semester exams in Greek universities.

The two new measures that come in the new year if the situation with the pandemic spirals

It is noted that yesterday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred – speaking to the Council of Ministers – to the measures that will be examined in the new year depending on the epidemiological situation.

“The second phase of our defense concerns the first weeks of 2022. And depending on the evolution of the pandemic, we have at our disposal a range of options, such as the extension of telework, the adjustment of hours in catering and entertainment. No, however, suspension of the operation of schools. But everything, I emphasize, will be judged by the data then. No decision has been made yet. “