Albania confirmed the presence of the Omicron variant on Thursday after detecting two cases of the allegedly highly contagious strain. Although authorities continuously call on citizens not to let their guard down, a simple observation at the capital’s main square seems to point to the opposite, with no masks on sight nor keeping the prescribed safe distance.

The eagerness to celebrate end-year holidays and gather with loved ones seems to override the fact that the pandemic is still here and measures need to be respected.

Foreign tourists that chose Albania as the country to celebrate Christmas are surprised by the liberty found here.

“Life is better here. You can go out without wearing a mask and everything looks fine. I live in Germany, I don’t know how the COVID situation is here, but I only see people wearing masks at the mall. I like that and I like Albania”, a German tourist says.

One of the pandemic preventative measures imposed by the government is mandatory mask-wearing in indoor public venues as well as allowing only 50 people to be gathered at the same place. However, it seems that these measures are not being respected either.