The relaxation of COVID measures, announced yesterday and the eventual return to normality will hopefully help with people’s psychological status after the tough situation we have all been through, Family Doctor Dr Jan Chircop said.

Speaking to TheJournal.mt, Dr Chircop said that although we have been through similar challenges in the past with the flu and other viruses such as Ebola, COVID-19 was probably the most devastating ever as people suffered a lot, not only physically but also psychologically. 

COVID measures helped curtail other diseases

Dr Chircop explains how COVID restrictions helped to control other diseases.

“These measures were important to curtail other infectious diseases such as respiratory disease and viruses which are airborne. Sanitation, hand hygiene, alcohol rubs and masks have all helped contribute to a stark decrease in these infections. Such measures were essential as they not only work to control COVID numbers, but also to contain other diseases, as we have seen much less cases of flu and colds,” he said.

Reacting to the news that a fourth COVID vaccine dose does not seem necessary, Dr Chircop said that this is a relief, however we need to keep an eye on the situation. “As with all respiratory ilnesses, cases will go down during the spring and summer months but tend to go up again as the weather starts getting colder,” he said.

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne announced the relaxation of a number of COVID measures starting from Monday.