Municipalities most affected by Covid-19: we must look for soldiers to go to the front



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The city of Vilnius has the highest number of cases during the entire pandemic period. A total of 45845 people were sick there, currently 352. A total of 349 cases were recorded in Kaunas, currently 203 people are sick. In third place in terms of morbidity is the Vilnius district, where a total of 331 cases have been registered and currently 42 people are sick.

According to the number of deaths from Covid-19, the city of Vilnius is also in the lead: 22 deaths from the virus have been diagnosed there. 18 people died of coronavirus in the city of Klaipeda, 9 in the Ukmergmer district.

The lowest number of cases has been recorded in the municipality of Birštonas so far, no one has been infected there. An illness was recorded in Pakruojis and Varėna, Druskininkai and Pagėgiai districts. One person is still ill in Pakruojis district.

There have been two crises in the area

The Kretinga district municipality is one of the settlements most affected by Covid-19. During the pandemic, 64 people were sick here, currently two. In the Kretinga district, two people died from Covid-19.

According to Jolanta Girdvainė, director of the municipal administration, in trying to cope with the rapid spread of the virus, the municipality faced a number of challenges that were worth finding non-standard solutions.

First, at the end of April, a focus of Covid-19 infections was registered in the Kartena Nursing Hospital. This time, the virus was detected in 22 patients at the institution. The number of infected people increased and one patient died from the virus.

“The problem had to be fixed and the standby mode was on and the staff was infected. As a result, we have made some pretty drastic decisions. We offered very good salaries to the doctors who were on duty. It probably worked. Practically, we find ourselves 24 hours a day to replace sick employees, ”J. Girdvainė told tv3.lt.

Kartena, Kretinga, photo by V. Chiapo.

Another issue facing the district is the isolated but painful case of Covid-19 in the family. The virus was found in a man who was raising just two teenage sons. The man was immediately taken to the hospital and the municipality had to take care of one of the remaining children.

“The point was that the children had to be immediately removed from the place of residence where they were left alone, transported safely, inspected, tested, housed in isolation rooms, to ensure their full well-being, nutrition and care.

And then of course to take them home, to decide where to keep them if events have changed in the other direction. But, thank God, everything ended well, “said the director of administration.

He added that although the municipality had to go through a series of atypical situations during the pandemic, it was these two who “hardened and mobilized us.”

He did not follow Veryga’s orders.

However, according to J. Girdvainė, the orders of the Minister of Health, the head of the operations center Aurelijus Veryga, caused many difficulties for the municipality.

“Because it was as if the municipalities were left to decide and do it immediately. We had to quickly find many non-standard solutions. Look for isolation rooms that must meet really very high requirements with separate sanitary facilities. And so on and so on.

We know that in big cities you can talk about hotels, but in small towns it is practically impossible to find apartments with separate bathrooms and toilets. <...> In fact, the orders from the head of the operations center were practically to start certain actions today, and as a result, we often called and asked, ”said J. Girdvainė.

A. Veryga rewards doctors who have fought against the coronavirus

Another major problem facing the municipality was the medical forces, as many specialists refused to contact Covid-19 patients. In addition, many doctors who work in the districts, according to the director of administration, belong to the risk group.

“A challenge when looking for soldiers to go to the front. This pandemic, this coronavirus will highlight the losers and leaders, as I say. And that’s how it felt.

If the doctors we ask for help, or the people from the Public Health Office who should practically be out front all the time and ask, maybe you need help … Often when we ask you to go, contact the sick, yes, it is not easy. They say I’ll pick up the newsletter if you tell me to go

There were sayings that we couldn’t force them to do anything. That is, if we are all so guided that we cannot force ourselves to do anything, and the doctors who take the oath to Hippocrates can also refuse to go, then I don’t know how to work. It was really very difficult, “said J. Girdvainė.

Ukmergė district removed the largest chimney in the country

In March, the Ukmergė district became the country’s first and largest Covid-19 home. During the entire pandemic period, the virus was detected in 93 people in the district, currently 4. 9 people have died in the municipality from Covid-19.

Ukmergė became the focus of the coronavirus on March 19, when a doctor working at Ukmergė Hospital was confirmed to have the new coronavirus. Then the number of diseases in the municipality began to grow rapidly.

Ukmergė Hospital (TV3 photo)

Darius Varnas, director of the municipal administration, recalls that controlling the chimney was really an extraordinary situation, which forced municipal and public health specialists to work every day from 8 in the morning. until 11 pm

“We closed the hospital, we sanitized all the apartment buildings, the city streets, and we did everything possible. All schools closed immediately, we introduced distance learning. <...>

We put everything together somehow, we did not close the city, we tried all the options. Twice a day we convene the Operations and Emergencies Headquarters for remote meetings. There we put together the homework that came up on the same day and continue to explore it. After that, we didn’t have any infected people for a period of time, maybe 1.5 months, “D. Varnas told tv3.lt.

There were problems with the burial of the dead.

D. Varn considers that the responses to the Covid-19 tests are the biggest problem experienced by the municipality. Because only one lab tested the coronavirus in the spring, it was heavily loaded and had to wait a long time for the test results.

“When we had that fireplace in our hospital, there were those deaths. Still, basically all those people in the infirmary died. When loved ones wanted to be buried, there was nothing you could do if you wanted the corpses to happen. We had to do a Covid-19 test. And until you get tested, you can’t do anything but cremation, and you didn’t even allow it at first, or bury it in a coffin with a special bag. There are no farewell ceremonies.

It was the most painful. It was very difficult for people to survive. Imagine that a loved one dies and then you cannot bury them in time. But it was quickly resolved in a few weeks, “recalled D. Varnas.

Ukmergė Hospital (TV3 photo)

The biggest challenge is a closed city

The Vilnius district is one of the municipalities most affected by Covid-19. 331 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded during the pandemic, and 42 people remain ill. Three people have died here from coronavirus.

Vilnius District Mayor Marija Rekst admits that the situation in the municipality at the beginning of the pandemic was unpleasant. The biggest challenge facing the municipality is managing the situation in Nemenčinė, which has become the center of attention. Nemenčinė is so far the only area to which movement was restricted during the pandemic.

“It was necessary to promptly inform the population, organize changes in traffic regulations, ensure the care and nutrition of the elderly and disabled, equip all those who worked at the chimney with personal protective equipment, and so on.

After the decision was made to examine all residents of Nemenčinė, it was necessary to organize a mobile test point within a few hours, where not only PCR but also serological tests were performed. The work at the point was organized on a completely different principle than at other mobile points, ”wrote M. Rekst in response to tv3.lt.

Nemenčinė is closed for at least a week: cars entering and leaving are monitored

According to the mayor, residents must get used to living with the new virus.

“We must start avoiding the word ‘fight’. The whole principle of organizing public life has changed, we must keep a safe distance from other people, we must wear personal protective equipment, wash and disinfect our hands as often as possible , etc. Currently, we are closely monitoring the situation in educational institutions, since all the decisions of the Operations Manager will be implemented there, ”the mayor wrote.

In Kaunas district, the peak of illnesses occurred after the quarantine was lifted

During the entire period of the pandemic, 96 people fell ill from Covid-19 in the Kaunas district, 64 of them are still ill. However, according to the Kaunas district mayor Valerijus Makūnas, the peak of illnesses was not observed at the beginning of the pandemic, but much later, after the quarantine was lifted.

“Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, during the quarantine period, the Kaunas district municipality has been able to enjoy a sufficiently low morbidity rate and a small number of cases. Until May 6. We only had 21 people diagnosed with the disease, the symptoms of many patients were blurred. We were among the municipalities that best faced the pandemic.

The situation deteriorated in the post-quarantine period. Starting July 15. To date, 75 new cases have been identified, 11 of which have already been recovered, ”wrote V. Makūnas in response to tv3.lt.

According to him, the number of diseases in the district may have increased due to the fact that the municipality is closely connected with the city of Kaunas, as well as the related municipal infrastructure.

“International transport arteries intersect here, a lot of logistics, catering companies, tourist facilities, there is an international airport in Karmėlava, so it is understandable that there are many more opportunities for various contacts than in less populated municipalities,” the mayor considered .

However, according to V. Makūnas, currently the municipality does not lack the resources to fight Covid-19, the district cooperates with the Republican Hospital of Kaunas, uses volunteers: shooters and firefighters.

The age of people with the Covid-19 virus in the Kaunas district is 6 to 84 years old. Of the 64 active cases, approximately 10% were hospitalized. Most suffer from it mildly or asymptomatically and are treated in self-isolation on an outpatient basis at home.



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