The Pasaulio Pakrašty restaurant in Lithuania took a stand this summer announcing that only people not vaccinated against Covid-19 would be allowed in. Two months later, it has been visited by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda with the first lady, but was not turned away, Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT.
On Friday, October 8, a picture of the President and his wife Diana visiting the restaurant appeared on Pasaulio Pakrašty Facebook page.
In August, the restaurant openly criticised the government’s decision to make national Covid certificates mandatory to access indoor restaurants, cafes and bars. The certificate is issued to people who have recovered from Covid-19 in the past 180 days, have tested negative for coronavirus using a PCR or an antigen test, or have been fully vaccinated.
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«We officially announce that as of September 14, only unvaccinated people will be allowed to come to our restaurant,» Pasaulio Pakrašty wrote on Facebook on August 7. «As such, we will contribute to everyone’s safety and freedom of choice,» it added.
However, according to the President’s Office, Nausėda was not aware of the restaurant’s anti-vaccine policy. «On his visits to Lithuanian regions, the president usually chooses to have lunch in small family restaurants. This time, he picked a restaurant that has been following all governmental regulations for almost a month. This means that the restaurant only accepts customers with Covid certificates,» the president’s spokesman Ridas Jasiulionis told LRT.lt.
Nausėda has recently criticised the Lithuanian government for not doing enough to accelerate Covid-19 vaccinations in the country.
The article originally appeared on LRT English: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1517628/lithuanian-president-visits-restaurant-which-claimed-it-would-only-serve-unvaccinated-people