Latvia to go under «strict lockdown» for four weeks

From 21 October to 15 November included Latvia will go under strict lockdown. This means tight Covid-19 restrictions, announced Latvia’s Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš after a meeting of the Crisis Management Council on Monday, 18 October.
He mentioned that nearly all stores, entertainment venues and other services will be closed down for the lockdown. Schools will need to transition to distance teaching. At the same time, this decision will need to be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
The PM said the decision on the lockdown was made because the vaccination coverage in Latvia is not high enough.
«Some people may not understand why the situation in Latvia like this and different in Denmark and Ireland. The reason is that the vaccination process is going worse than expected,» said the PM.
Minister of Health Daniels Pavļuts explains that during the lockdown all stores except for ones selling goods of first necessity will be closed and only the basic services will be allowed to be provided. It is also planned to declare a curfew between 20:00 and 05:00. The minister added in this regard that «people will be allowed to freely return home from work vice versa».
At the same time it is planned to extend school break by a week, but after that all grades except 1st-3rd will have to stay on distance teaching. From 1 November onward only 1st-3rd graders will study in schools in person. All other students will remain on distance teaching until 15 November.
Latvia is on 1st place among countries of the world when it comes to Covid-19 infection rate. The number of Covid-19 cases have increased 49% when compared to the week prior. The 14-day number of Covid-19 cases per 100 000 residents is already 1 266.4, which is twice as high as the peak observed in the second wave.
The number of Covid-19 patients undergoing treatment in hospitals has doubled in Latvia in the last 24 hours.
The number of deaths from Covid-19 has increased 48% over the course of the week.
The capacity of intensive care beds for Covid-19 cases is reaching 100%.
The Ministry of Health notes that if infection rate continues at the current speed, the number of new Covid-19 patients is expected to reach 4 000 by the end of October. The number of daily hospitalizations is expected to reach 275.