The electric wave of the pandemic

Yes, we know that 20 years of bad governance have installed corruption in this society. But the constant repetition of this fact will not eliminate either crime or corruption in this country. Actions yes

I don't know what this wave of the pandemic is that has caught us, but I have no doubts that this is a direct consequence of the end-of-year holidays and the permission that was given to travelers from abroad, more precisely, the diaspora to come to Kosovo as well without proof that they received the two vaccines.

The very fact that the tightening of measures was scheduled to start only on January 3, 2022, showed that, once again, it was decided that people would come to Kosovo without proof of vaccinations obtained for the purpose of collecting more funds that the diaspora leaves in Kosovo as whenever it comes

The easing of measures, namely not insisting on wearing masks, distancing, not gathering in bars and parties, was of course taken advantage of by everyone else who decided that the virus no longer exists, and that it actually continues to be an illusion or even a conspiracy that is served to us by the air thrown from airplanes, etc.

The result of all this is that on January 3, 2022, there were 540 active cases and only 38 new cases of COVID in Kosovo, while Omicron was already circulating in Kosovo. So, on January 21, 2022, Kosovo has 12.369 active cases and only yesterday 2.943 cases were registered. With the case that died yesterday, a total of 2.997 deaths have been recorded since the beginning of the pandemic. And even this number is not known if it is completely correct.

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also Video December 4, 2022 The movement schedule is extended and it is allowed not to use the mask in open spaces

This situation points to a very important thing. As the last country to start vaccination, Kosovo managed to vaccinate almost half of the entire population in less than 8 months. And without a doubt, the greatest merits here go to the former Minister of Health, Arben Vitia, who postponed the conclusion of the contract with Pfizer to ensure sufficient doses for the vaccination of everyone for free.

It also shows an important thing: that we are a people that works on the spur of the moment and that we start looking for salvation when things become too complicated and when danger looms large. So we had the vaccination phase that became super massive in August, after the Delta wave explosion that drowned many people. We have the same now, after the rapid spread of Omicron: from about 2 doses that were administered on average per day, this number is now over 5 in the last few days.

Everything would have been easier if the vaccines would have been taken on time.

Yesterday the Government approved the new measures, which will last two weeks and according to which the freedom of movement is limited from 22:00 and the bars close at 21:00. Of course, there are many who complain about this, but the fact is that despite the limited movement so far, people have gathered in private bars and parties without respecting the measures. So these were also sources of the wave that we are experiencing now.

What surprised me the most was the insistence of the Ministry of Education that schools remain open, even though a large number of children, unvaccinated due to their age, are being affected by the virus and are spreading it to others.

The reasoning of Deputy Minister Pupovci that "There are no coercive measures other than compliance with existing measures and vaccination. A radical measure could be to close the schools for a certain period, but we do not see that in this form any problem is solved, except that the children are harmed, because they will return to school again in two weeks, three weeks and we in two or three in the next few weeks we won't be able to introduce new measures except distance, masks and vaccination invitation", is hardly sustainable and defensible, because children up to the age of 12 do not have vaccination permits yet, and the fact is that in Kosovo COVID - has also hit preschool children.

And honestly, how is a preschool or elementary school child expected to know how to protect themselves, keep their distance and wear a mask? It can be expected, but it is not work that is done.

Therefore, the next two weeks, where the closing of at least nurseries is not foreseen, will circulate the virus more to the little ones.

I'm pretty sure that the experts in the field have already explained to the leaders of the education department that Omicron spreads much faster and to many more people than Alpha and Delta, and at the time of these two variants, the schools were still closed.

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Simultaneously with the boiling of the new wave of the pandemic, we have been dealing with the current for exactly three weeks. We were also overtaken by the energy crisis. At one time we had a few days of reductions, we were completely lost, because there were already neighborhoods that remained without electricity much longer than the predetermined hours; because each blackout, depending on the voltage, destroyed quite a few electrical devices in the house and because, of course, the crisis caught us when it started to get very cold.

They were told that electricity should be saved, they were given advice on what to do, and of course no one heeded the advice. In addition, a mockery campaign was launched on what equipment should not be used if the minister's advice is followed. Then it was said that there is no saving, there will be a reduction, to finally come to the "solution": the increase in the price of electricity.

The approach chosen by the Government was wrong. In a meeting, he came out to say that he supported ERO's proposal for the return of the block tariff, as well as the price increase for both basic consumption and that beyond the block tariff. Let's remember that the block tariff was also recommended by NGOs, so some support in principle also existed from civil society.

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But the problem was that no one from the executive saw the opportunity to come out and explain why it was necessary to raise the price and why the import had to be paid from the budget. So, an elementary communication with the public, to whom the situation had to be explained, before the issue became big and 700 tails were added to the original story, so that it was no longer known what the ERO's decision actually meant take effect in February.

The press conference was held the next day – and some explanations were given, which I don't know if they were convincing. And the explanation could have been simple, as my friend Agron Demi clarified with a status on FB:

"There are two truths, which the Government of Kosovo must balance:

- The first truth: Kosovo has the cheapest energy prices in Europe;

- The second truth: Kosovo has the highest rate of energy poverty, or over 60% of households are considered to be part of 'energy poverty', or cases where over 10% of family income goes to paying for energy.

Now, the laws, as well as the ERO rules, state that any investment in the energy sector, production and import costs must be reflected in the invoices. And on the other hand, this increase in prices is true, which also increases the poverty of energy consumers.

In a situation like this, there is no other way out than to raise prices (or to continue subsidizing the cost as it has happened in various forms so far). But at the same time, from now on, the Government should work intensively to reduce energy consumption through energy efficiency projects".

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The energy saga also continued in the Assembly in a session called by the opposition, which sought the approval of a resolution (another one in the line of useless resolutions) which would stop the increase in the price of electricity. In the meantime, a debate took place in which accusations and counter-accusations were exchanged, and which left behind some elements that, if they were not tragic, would be comical. The Prime Minister, in order to argue that all this is happening to us is the result of 20 years of bad governance, mentioned some boilers and some filters and in the end said that what the previous powers had done badly for 20 years, this one could not solve for ten months.

In this last sentence, he is right, that no one can do miracles for a few months or even for a few years - but it is high time that this discourse stops, because we are tired of hearing it and it does not even help us. nor does it improve our lives.

So the reality is what we have and now we have to look ahead, to see how things can improve and what are the new ones that this government can bring. It has both the power of approving laws and the power of their implementation in quite a few segments. But so far, it is not that he has shown that he knows exactly what he is doing and if what he is offering as a solution is exactly what Kosovo needs to become better.

The case of the pandemic shows the inconsistency of action and the taking of measures that sometimes not only sound, but are also absurd.

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Yes, we know that 20 years of bad governance have installed corruption in this society. But the constant repetition of this fact will not eliminate either crime or corruption in this country. Actions yes.

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