In February Latvia’s government plans to decide on a strategy for a way out from Covid-19 pandemic based on all cautionary measures, said Latvian PM Krišjānis Kariņš after a meeting of the ruling coalition on Monday, 31 January.
According to the politician, it is important to evaluate all precautionary measures to see which are no longer needed and can be lifted.
«We want to secure clarity about this before the end of the state of emergency at the end of February,» said the PM, adding «it is necessary to go in line with infection and hospitalisation rates. So far it seems the hospitalisation rate with Omicron variant is different to Delta variant, and hospitals do not receive as many patients as rapidly as they did previously.»
The head of the government said one of the reason is the large number of people who have vaccinated for Covid-19.
Minister of Health Daniels Pavļuts mentioned on Twitter that on 31 January the ruling coalition decided to order the ministry and Operational Management Group to prepare proposals for an exit strategy from the state of emergency after its end on 1 March.
«Work on proposals has commenced. The Ministry of Health believes the decision on an exit strategy once Latvia has passed the peak of Omicron,» the minister wrote.
Kariņš also stressed at a press-conference that he plans to meet with his Lithuanian and Estonian colleagues on Friday, 4 February, to discuss the issue of Covid-19 restrictions to coordinate Baltic States’ anti-pandemic efforts.
Last week Pavļuts announced that with the Omicron storm calming down, it is planned to end the state of emergency and safety measures.
According to the Ministry of Health, work has commenced on a plan for the easing of restrictions, which should be implemented after the end of the current Covid-19 outbreak. According to outlooks from researchers, Covid-19 pandemic is expected to reach its peak in the middle of February.
The Ministry of Health commenced work on the strategy to lift safety measures together with other ministries. Latvia will be able to lift existing restrictions once there has been a considerable drop in infection numbers.
The ministry’s representatives explain that it is clear in other countries that infections with Omicron have started to decrease rather rapidly after an initial surge. Scientific projections suggest a similar scenario is expected in Latvia.
BNN previously reported that before the 31 January meeting of the coalition, the New Conservative Party released a statement in which the party explained that with Omicron being the dominant Covid-19 variant in Latvia, it is necessary to review the approach in limiting and managing Covid-19 in the country.
According to the party, the solutions that were effective in efforts against previous variants of the virus, they no longer work under current conditions and need to be replaced.
First of all, the party said, it is necessary to change the use of Covid-19 certificates at different events in Latvia. One of the main functions of the certificate system was limiting the spread of the infection. However, the latest information suggests Covid-19 certificates no longer fulfil this function in a way that was initially intended.
«At the same time, we can see a large number of our residents are either vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19. This means the workload for hospitals is significantly lower,» says JKP board, adding that the coverage of vaccination among employed residents has been over 90% since December 2021. This means Latvia has reached a sufficiently high vaccination coverage among employed residents. This is why the use of Covid-19 certificates in the country should move on to a new regime, easing the burden for both residents and entrepreneurs.
The party’s statement also mentions that it is necessary to re-evaluate the usefulness of the testing policy.
The government has plans to spend dozens of millions of euros on procurements of quick and laboratory Covid-19 tests in the coming months even though these tests often turn out ineffective and take a long time to provide results, according to coalition party’s representatives. The believe such tests should be performed at healthcare institutions. The party’s representatives also add it is necessary to ease testing conditions at schools and work places.
«Thirdly, it is necessary to review the contact persons and self-isolation policy, especially for vaccinated and recovered people. The current policy shows that it is not possible to influence the spread of the virus. However, the policy does create inconveniences for multiple sectors of the economy and education institutions,» notes JKP board.
Latvian government to decide on way out for Covid-19 pandemic in February
