Until 6 December the government has no plans to ease Covid-19 restrictions, said Latvia’s Minister of Health Daniels Pavļuts after a meeting of coalition parties on Monday, 22 November.
He admits the situation with Covid-19 pandemic in Latvia is slowly improving – positives are observed for all important parameters. Additionally, the number of new infections cases has gone down.
«When we first imposed the curfew the 14-day infection index was 1 463 per 100 000 residents. Now it is at 750. This reduction continues,» explains the politician, adding that the number of hospitalised patients suffering from severe infection as well as the number of deaths from Covid-19 are gradually declining.
At the same time, the situation is delicate because Covid-19 is on a rapid climb in other EU member states. «Indexes across the EU are on a rapid rise. Everything indicates that the winter season will be difficult in Europe and many other places around the world,» says Pavļuts.
This is why the ruling coalition in Latvia discussed the possible turn the situation could take in the near future. According to the minister, there are multiple scenarios – from optimistic to pessimistic – because depending on how things go with vaccination, how people behave during the upcoming festivities, the situation could change drastically.
«Today at the meeting we reached multiple points. The first point is that until 6 December we have n no plans for any new and benefits that were not previously discussed. We have to follow the situation very carefully,» said the minister.
Antigen tests may become commonly available in Latvia around 6 December. The tests will be provided to the public sector, including schools and hobby groups.
Booster shots will play a major role for epidemiological solutions this winter to prevent new infection cases and hospitalisation. Pavļuts claims it is accessible to nearly all residents in Latvia and especially for people in risk groups and residents who were vaccinated using Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
At the same time the government discussed the possibility of imposing other terms for booster shots. The minister said there are doctors who administer booster shots after five, not six months, of using Vaxzevria (prev. AstraZeneca) vaccine.
«Currently there are no proposals for any more lockdowns or curfew days,» adds Pavļuts.
But the government may reach an agreement on special safety rules for Christmas markets.
More this topic: Latest Covid-19 cases in Baltics. 349 in Latvia, 851 in Lithuania, 403 in Estonia
Minister: currently there are no plans to ease Covid-19 restrictions in Latvia
