The night shift on Saturday had President Luis Lacalle Pou fulfilling a double function in Piriapólis: first, he was in charge of lighting a giant paella for 3,000 people in the port of the city and then he led a press conference in which he referred the eventual arrival of the Omicron variant in the country and its impact on the world.
Despite the fact that it is known as a more transmissible strain that has already spread to several countries in the region, the president said that in Uruguay it is still too early to think about new restrictive measures against this variant of the coronavirus: “Today it is not there is no reason to take a step back. If people help with the third dose we will be better immunized for these variants. “
Lacalle indicated that at the moment, when the country averages 234 cases and one death a day in the last seven days, “there is no reason” to re-impose more severe restrictions. “We know what it was like last season,” he said in response to a query for possible new measures.
“With this strain and with the previous strains, we receive weekly, around 4 or 5 in the afternoon, a report” on the current health situation in the country, he said. However, he assured the analysis of those numbers “does not merit any more restrictive measure” than those that are already in force.
The president also insisted that the population be vaccinated with the third dose against covid-19 to maintain health stability. “You have to take care of yourself. (…) With the vaccine and with certain care, we will be better.”
“This is not permanent. It depends on the behavior that all Uruguayans have. I am optimistic, but it is useless to be optimistic and relax,” he concluded.
