Currently Covid-19 is found for every third tested person in Latvia, as reported by the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC) Risk Analysis and Prevention Department Director, epidemiologist Jurijs Perevoščikovs. He said that over the past four months there have been more deaths caused by Covid-19 in Latvia.
While in October there were only a couple of cases a week, in the past four weeks there have been nine deaths every week on average. SPKC data indicates that for approximately half of patients Covid-19 is the main diagnosis, but for some the infection was a contributing factor to their death.
However, whether death rates go up in the near future depends on how the situation goes on, because the number of patients suffering from severe infection is also on a rise. There are usually two patients suffering from severe infection in hospitals. Last week there were nine patients whose state was considered severe.
Perevoščikovs mentioned that
Covid-19 is currently the most widely spread respiratory infection in Latvia.
Currently almost every third patient tested for Covid-19 last week tested positive for it. He said this is a very large number, and if the infection continues to spread, it will affect young people, who mostly go through light symptoms, but also people in the risk group.
The epidemiologist also said that last season Covid-19 spread was 20-30% of all respiratory diseases. It is likely the situation will be similar this season. It will continue for a long time. This also means more pressure for hospitals. At the same time, Omicron remains the dominant Covid-19 variant. This means the situation is not expected to be as dramatic as it was in the beginning of the pandemic.
Perevoščikovs added that the situation could suffer from flu viruses, the spread of which is unavoidable, because the flu epidemic appears every year. Both flu and Covid-19 are dangerous for risk patients – people whose immune system is weak.
SPKC invites residents of 65 years and older, people with chronic diseases and pregnant women to vaccinate for Covid-19 and flu. According to Perevoščikovs, last year the people who vaccinated for seasonal respiratory diseases got sick twice as less as people who didn’t vaccinate at all.
As previously reported, the number of patients hospitalised with severe Covid-19 infection is on a rise in Latvia.
Data from SPKC indicates that the number of Covid-19 cases continued going up last year: 209 Covid-19 cases were confirmed (183 the week prior). Of 505 hospitalised patients tested for SARS-CoV-2, Covid-19 was confirmed for 95 (76 the week prior).
Last week 217 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised, continuing the growth tendency from previous weeks. However, the growth was not as rapid as it was in previous weeks, which may indicate the stabilisation of the epidemiological situation.
Also read: BNN ANALYSES | COVID-19 swings again in Lithuania, but its milder versions are expected to prevail
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