{"id":19221,"date":"2021-08-30T16:25:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-30T14:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?p=19221"},"modified":"2021-08-30T16:38:17","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T14:38:17","slug":"citizens-ignore-mounting-covid-19-figures-continue-to-flock-bars-and-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/citizens-ignore-mounting-covid-19-figures-continue-to-flock-bars-and-restaurants\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizens ignore mounting COVID-19 figures, continue to flock bars and restaurants"},"content":{"rendered":"

August was characterized by a spike in new cases, however, this does not concern citizens who have been flocking bars, disregarding physical distance advice, or continuing to use public transportation, where very few people abide by the mandatary mask-wearing rule.<\/p>\n

After doing a simple calculation through the data provided by the Health Ministry, last week had an average of 732 new infections per day, compared to a relatively lower figure of 465 new infections per day in the previous months.<\/p>\n

But mounting new infections are not a matter of concern to all citizens.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even listen to them. They\u2019re all lies to me\u201d, said an elderly citizen.<\/p>\n

\u201cA major problem! It\u2019s all our fault\u2019, said another citizen.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are not careful at all. I live in Greece, but it\u2019s different there\u201d, said an Albanian citizen visiting for the holidays.<\/p>\n

More than 2,500 have died from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, while positive cases have reached more than 140.000, according to official data.<\/p>\n

But according to the same data, the most affected age groups is from 30-39 years, counting for 19% of new infections. More women have been infected, but mortality from the virus remains higher among men.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, health minister Manastirliu announced that 5% of people admitted to the hospital were vaccinated.<\/p>\n

President Ilir Meta called on the government to take measures and establish a clear strategy in order to put the situation under control, in a post shared on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis severe moment cannot be kept under control through a simple curfew, but through scientific and proportional measures, booster doses and through consolidated and internationally renowned health protocols\u201d, wrote Meta.<\/p>\n

The President also appealed for massive testing, tracing, and isolation as \u201cessential steps\u201d.<\/p>\n

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