A false dilemma

Weighing the pros and cons of a decision is always difficult. Health measures to stop the pandemic entail economic and social burdens. 

But experience with the pandemic has shown that underestimating the risk of contagion ultimately hurts the economy as well as public health. 

This experience should now serve as a guide: If we ignore the threat posed by the new dangerous Delta variant to avoid affecting tourism, we may end up endangering lives and hurting the sector anyway. 

That is why announcing that people should “throw away the masks” is not only premature – it also presents a danger on many levels.