The hammer does not help you dance if you hit your knee.
“The Hammer and the Dance” is a well-known strategy for the fight against COVID-19 adopted by 90% of democratic governments. Strict measures (the "hammer") are imposed for social distancing, which give time to authorities and the health system to prepare for the actual fight against the virus and the ability to return to a more normal lifestyle (the "dance") – testing, tracking, isolating the infected and in-contacts, treatment. The “hammer” alone cannot overcome the pandemic – it provides time and resources for the real combat. This is MEP Radan Kanev's comment on European measures against the pandemic.
"The case of the Amsterdam plane, completely filled with in-contacts that were left to scatter uncontrollably, shows that in our country the “Hammer“ is not used as intended. Time – already 50 days (!) – has not been used for effective testing, tracking and treatment measures. In fact, social distancing measures were only used to intimidate citizens, seize power and gain political dividends by the governing bodies. And now the situation is worrying – people are already tired of all the measures, the economy is on the verge of collapse, the savings of families and businesses – spent or severely reduced. Our forces, as a society, to endure measures without a fair dialogue with the authorities and without a clear perspective on the next steps – both medical and economic – are near exhaustion. The basic resource – trust in the government and the headquarters, is also being run out of, "Kanev commented.
In his words, the real work has to begin. "Better late than never. However, I fear that, trying to use the “Hammer” for political PR, the ruling party has repeatedly hit its kneecap. And now it's hard for authorities to "dance," the MEP says.
Earlier, Radan Kanev commented that one of the most worrying manifestations of the crisis was the bloodthirstiness of the debate on social networks.
"This is not Levski football club against CSCA club, the picture is not black and white. And above all – it makes no sense of or benefit from mutual accusations. We all know very little and every opinion has its reason. And everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It is the responsibility of the authorities to decide what measures are most appropriate, to inform, to explain, to persuade. But first and foremost – it is the responsibility of the authorities not to divide, not to set one Bulgarian against another, not to try to amass assets from a tragedy, not to use natural fear and tension to intimidate, "he said.
According to the MEP, it is our responsibility to first inform ourselves, to assess the risk for us and our families, to evaluate the limitations we impose on ourselves. And then – to comply with official restrictions.
