Veryga second wave peak for leisurely prediction – has a tolerable spread scenario and much worse

The second wave

Last week, epidemiologists and Minister A. Veryga himself said that the beginning of the second wave of coronavirus has already been registered in Lithuania. Delphi I didn’t want to predict when we would reach the peak of the second wave.

The interlocutor considered that the record of new cases that we saw last week has not yet ended.

“I think the numbers we have now are not finite. I think we will definitely have more, we will definitely have more than one fireplace, the numbers are higher. What is very important is that people, especially those at risk, have learned to be careful. Hopefully the disease will spread further and affect the very young, as has been the case so far, as other European countries are observing. If that is the case, that threat will be relatively moderate, but if the disease begins to spread between older people, we may have some problems ”, expected the minister.

Veryga recalled the recommendations that were made now: wear masks, avoid meetings, work remotely if possible.

“The more people protect themselves, the less likely it is that the disease will spread. Another recommendation is to get vaccinated against the flu, now some vaccines have reached Lithuania. People at risk should hurry up and start taking an interest and getting vaccinated. These are the measures that must be applied, ”the minister mentioned another proposal.

Talking to Delphi the politician said there could be a new debate this week on possible new restrictions. Everything, he said, will depend on the epidemiological situation.

“If the disease continues to spread, it can go back to the question of where it is spreading. If we see the same trends, indoors, we can expect some considerations, perhaps for public catering establishments, but so far this is just a theory. ”Said A. Veyga.

Why is there no local quarantine?

Since last Monday, more than 600 new cases of coronavirus have been registered in Lithuania. The Health Minister said that the situation in the country is still under control.

“The answer is the same as last week, until now. Until we see a particular deterioration in the treatment facilities, until we have a lot of patients who need sophisticated care, and until epidemiologists can find and track most of those cases. and they can name them as foci. You can say that the situation is under control, “said the interlocutor.

On Sunday a new coronavirus outbreak was recorded in Kaunas in Lithuania. Veryga emphasized that she would have to get used to fireplaces that always come and go.

“One fireplace goes out, another happens because people communicate, there are people from different jobs in the same family. Naturally, such an infection does not travel to one or another workplace, educational institution. This is how some chimneys appear and others go out. “This is a never-ending process until there is a vaccine, unfortunately, it will be,” he said.

Speaking about the coronavirus outbreaks in the country, the minister said that the number of cases in the outbreaks should grow to some extent.

“At a certain point, the number of cases has to grow, because when the tests start very intensively, the infected people are at that moment. This does not mean that the infection is spreading, it means that we are finding infected people. And if the isolation of most of those people is successful, the fireplaces begin to go out. This has generally been the case so far, ”commented politician A. Veryga on the management of the chimneys.

Currently, the worst situation is in Raseiniai district, Radviliškis, the city and Šiauliai district are catching up. However, the local quarantine is not announced in these municipalities, the municipalities use only the restrictions used during the quarantine. The Minister does not consider the situation in these areas critical.

“The quarantine does not mean anything in itself, it all depends on its content. The quarantine itself as a very scary regime and people, has a negative reaction. I don’t know if the situation there is critical, it is certainly not good, but it can hardly be called critical. If you already have to restrict the freedom of citizens, the opportunity to move, then what you will do is to quarantine and actively monitor what is happening where. (…) In this case the municipalities handle other measures, there are definitely many adopted ”, recalled the Minister.

Last Friday, the Raseiniai district municipality postponed plans to request the government to quarantine for a week, but since Saturday presented recommendations for residents to wear face masks in all public places, cancel all trips to other districts during at least two weeks and avoid any meetings.

A. Veryga, speaking with Delphi He stated that so far the guidelines in this area are only indicative, since their strengthening requires quarantine.

“Probably, it would be necessary to establish the obligation of the quarantine regime and establish that the quarantine should be announced not by workplaces, companies, institutions, but by the general public. But here again there is a very difficult debate: on the one hand, it is said that there is little trust in citizens, everything revolves around the prism of control. On the other hand, when it is not an obligation, it seems that there is no need to comply. I would very much like to hope that people follow one or another measure not because they are afraid of being punished by the police, but because they understand that the spread of the virus can be controlled in this way, ”said the minister.

I hope to change negative attitudes

After the first wave, people seem to have relaxed, so the masks are reluctantly backwards. Minister A. Veryga said that he felt those moods and could only recommend one thing: explain the benefits of personal protective equipment.

“It just came to our knowledge then. We are not a single state, after the first wave the reaction is different, not only in Lithuania. In Italy, for example, in Spain, people are protesting in the streets, they will not continue no recommendation or requirement, and there the situation has been very serious. (…) Naturally, it is very difficult for people to believe, accept that threat. How to change it? Just explain every day and with patience, give examples. It would be ideal if people were seen every day, constantly remembering behavior patterns, ”said A. Veryga about a possible solution to the problem.

The Minister said that it would be unwise to take particularly strict measures at this time.
“I do not think we can take any special repressive measures, specific punishments, because people are tired of the measures, of negative knowledge,” said the interlocutor.

Veryga said that we would not go back to the period of fear of the coronavirus.

“But I think at a level that was during the first wave, when part of the behavior was driven by fear because nobody knew about it, I was really very concerned about how things would play out. Apparently, we will not return to this state again ”, shared the interlocutor his predictions.

Those who deny the threat of the coronavirus note a relatively low death rate from this infection, wag their fingers towards Sweden and remember that the disease is dangerous only for people at risk. A. Veryga recalled that younger people can also get seriously ill.

“It is not only the disease that affects people at risk. We have many examples in Lithuania, of course, they are not adolescents, they are not in their twenties. But we have people between 35 and 40 years old who share their experiences and certainly not It was an easy disease for them, it is true that there are very few, it is true here. The disease is much more dangerous for older people with chronic diseases, “said the minister.

The Minister of Health, A. Veryga, urged young people to think about the possibility of transmitting the disease to older relatives.

“Not only can complications occur in young people, but they return home where they can carry the virus. And if they are in a mild form on their own, or they don’t have any symptoms, they can transmit the disease, which will be really dangerous for them. ” Delphi said the interlocutor.

Little hope for common EU indicators

Minister A. Veryga Delphi It said on Monday it had little hope that all European Union (EU) countries would agree on unified indicators. Lithuania, however, exceeded 25 cases per 100,000. population threshold, but applies it to other countries.

“You can find arguments to support both parties, it is really difficult to say which of those decisions is better. Of course, it would be better if the EU agreed. But I have very little hope that this will happen, “he said.

The minister said that it was extremely difficult to harmonize the indicators across the EU.

“It just came to our knowledge then. But I can hardly believe that Europe manages to reach an agreement, because very different countries, with very different indicators. In some places there are already more than 100 cases per 100 thousand. Population, in some places it continues being very small, as in Latvia. It is very difficult to expect the parties to agree, because as long as the indicator is better, they are very reluctant to let something worse in. Another argument is not to admit even more patients so that the situation does not get worse ”, Assured the interlocutor.

A. Veryga states that, although the logic of such a decision is somewhat doubtful, the procedure will not change.

“If the chimneys are controlled in the country, it is difficult to say if there will be proposals to change that indicator. But there can be anything in the future. As long as there are chimneys, it is logical to attend to incoming cases, which are not many ”, he said.

In the last two days, 201 new cases of coronavirus infection have been reported in the country, raising the total number of cases to 4,385.