The Vilnius mayor replied who should prepare for September: only in this way would it be possible to avoid a complete closure

Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius responded on the “Delfi diena” program which is most worrying. According to him, there is still a great lack of information on how to behave in the future. There is also a lack of data on where people are infected, according to the mayor.

“Obviously, we don’t have exact information now on exactly what will happen: the spread of the virus has not yet been studied very clearly, it is unclear when the vaccine will be released and, in fact, much depends on our behavior: the second wave will be large or will increase in the fall. ” . Our plan is to prevent the virus. The government has implemented certain measures for both the use of masks, and other measures will need to be implemented, and those measures relate to disinfection, public transportation, etc.

I can say that more accurate information on these topics would help us a lot, because until now we have no data on where people are infected, we only hear references in the articles that in one part or another, but, for example, is there at least one Infected person on public transport? , We do not know. Next, if there will be that second wave, how to live with it, from the first day of September. So far, the first September holidays have not been canceled, although of course everything can change, but we are preparing for distance education, if necessary, “said R. Šimašius on the program.

I hope the children can go to school

It is true that the situation in schools and education can cause a series of challenges in the future. Prime Minister Giedrius Surplys’ adviser says he hopes students can go to school in September.

“This week, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports is already preparing specific recommendations for September. She promises to hold a conference on Thursday, and possibly earlier, where everything will be presented. Having personally had three children and a wife, I have experienced the great challenges of that distance learning, so we must do everything possible to ensure that children, especially elementary school children, go to school in September.

We need to work on this so that we do not have economic stagnation. I really hope that the children can attend school safely, but we are looking forward to the next conference where the details of who should be prepared will be presented, ”said G. Surplys on the program.

Šimašius – around September: we are preparing for all the variants

R. Šimašius hopes that if there is a second wave of coronavirus, not all schools will be closed, and perhaps only one or the other. Another problem is public transportation, where significant flows of people can occur during peak hours.

“It just came to our attention then. It is very important that we want teleworking and self-employment to continue, but we realize that there will still be a lot of people on some routes and at certain times. I would like to repeat once more about the data: I understand that it was still not possible to have data on March 1, but now I don’t understand it at all. If we want to make smart decisions, they must be based on data, and the data must be about where the most infected people are. I understand that There may be some infections that you may not know where they are infected, but personally I am not aware of a single case of an infected person on public transport.

I suppose so, but again, there are no clear circumstances: where they drove, how they drove. It is very important to know these data so as not to “shoot” across the country, but to make the right decisions. I appeal once again to the Ministry of Health that the data is necessary and the data must be accurate.

And going back to kindergartens and schools, I hope that this time, if those schools are closed, things will be smarter because we have more experience, an epidemiological investigation is being done. I hope that there is definitely not a solution for the whole of Lithuania or the whole city, I think it may be necessary to close one or the other school, perhaps in groups. At least it seems to me that this is the option you should be prepared for, and we are preparing for all options, and that requires data and smarter management, “says the Vilnius mayor.

Surplys: you can go by the location route

Surplys says such an option would be possible. According to him, in some municipalities additional tests are applied, so it is necessary to be careful with all of them, but at the same time identify the sources and locate them.

“In principle, this option also worked during quarantine, because there were parents who had nowhere to leave their children and had to take them to several specialized kindergartens,” says Surplys.

“We are all safe, we have masks. When we have exceeded five infections in a hundred thousand cases, we also travel with more caution, we restrict movement where countries are most affected, locate outbreaks, trace contacts and manage outbreaks. This path can be taken not only in education but also in managing the spread of the coronavirus across the country in general.

It is this week that 11 municipalities, where the number of infections is higher than the national average, undergo additional tests to see who is infected. (…) In this way, when we all watch but locate the chimneys and manage them, it is possible to go further, avoiding complete closure, as was the case during the quarantine. Lessons are learned at this point. It is possible to continue in this way of localization ”, assures the Prime Minister’s advisor.