[ad_1]
On Thursday, Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis told Knowledge Radio that a nationwide quarantine is likely if the number of coronavirus patients cannot be balanced. Public health specialist R. Lingienė says that the introduction of the national quarantine is a political decision and would be influenced not only by epidemiological factors.
Commenting on the current state of coronavirus prevalence, the NVSC spokeswoman noted that the national quarantine would not be very effective, as morbidity in some counties varies by day and night.
“The cases are now divided: there are three counties with more. Kaunas is an unequivocal leader, Vilnius and Šiauliai. But the virus spreads in very different places. If the morbidity in Lithuania increased with an exponential curve and it was impossible to stop it, then it would be possible to think about it. [nacionalinį karantiną]”, – 15 minutes R.Lingienė said on “15/15” on Thursday.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Rolanda Lingiene
Morbidity statistics vary widely
The public health specialist points out that a solution to local quarantines would be more appropriate at this time. This is due both to morbidity statistics and the ways the virus spreads.
R. Lingienė assures that, for example, in Raseiniai the virus has spread to almost all areas of public life, and in Šiauliai county it is mainly spread in health institutions. And in the capital, young people under the age of 30 who have contracted the coronavirus in social activities (dances, songs, sports) are mostly sick.
These activities in Vilnius should take a break.
“If you need to post the quarantine, you need to start with the locals, if necessary, of course, post it. I really don’t see the need now as a specialist, but the situation may change again tomorrow,” he says.
“There is no quarantine in Marijampolė County, because [ten] individual cases, ”says R. Lingienė.
VIDEO: 15/15: R.Lingienė: “So far I don’t see the need to announce the national quarantine”
“Activities in Vilnius should take a break”
Speaking of Vilnius, the public health specialist points out that social life should be suspended here.
“The virus reaches institutions, organizations, companies from the activities we do after work: various dance studios, choir rehearsals, the virus spreads among hockey players. <...> Suspending these activities temporarily would change the situation in a couple of weeks, ”he says.
“At the moment, I don’t think there is a need for local quarantine elsewhere, but when it comes to Vilnius, I mentioned that there is a great need one way or another, or quarantined … NVSC made recommendations last week studies. It is not something we cannot live without, it is the least damaging to our interests. But it does not work. We register many cases throughout the day. How to close it is another question, but these activities in Vilnius should take a break, “he says R. Lingienė.
The closure of educational institutions should be the last
Speaking about the possible national quarantine, the head of the Vilnius department of the NVSC states that it is important not to stop the educational process for as long as possible. First, he believes that this does not solve any problems, and secondly, it harms the development of children. According to R. Lienienė, this would be one of the strictest measures to control the coronavirus.
“It just came to our knowledge then. And every effort should be made not to apply them. I had to read in the summer of studies conducted by European, Canadian researchers, the UNICEF organization that the closure of the school has a very negative impact on children and their achievements, psychological condition, their adaptation.
Children from poorer families are particularly negatively affected as they do not always have the facilities for distance education and may not always be able to hire tutors if they lack knowledge. And of course, children’s social skills: they learn from each other, they lose understanding of the daily routine, which is also especially important for children experiencing anxiety symptoms.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Rolanda Lingiene
Without a doubt, the closure of schools is one of the last measures. Closing schools right now, as my colleagues say, is ostrich policy: stick your head in the sand and there are no more problems. The virus is there and we have to learn to live with it, ”a public health specialist said 15/15.
The local quarantine will be announced by chief epidemiologists.
On Monday, the Minister of Health, Aurelijus Veryga renewed the order announcing the restricted quarantine regime. According to him, the objects, the duration and the limited quarantine regime could be announced and revoked by the chief epidemiologist of the country or county. The control of the regime must be carried out by the NVSC and the State Food and Veterinary Service, its territorial offices.
Under the order, in the event of the spread of coronavirus infection, the county or national chief epidemiologist could decide to apply a limited amount. quarantine measures (suspension or restriction) for domestic producers and service providers in at least one of the following circumstances:
- more than 100 people became ill with COVID-19 as a result of a single manufacturer or service provider;
- the activities of 5 producers, institutions or organizations are interrupted due to the activities of a manufacturer or service provider.
In this case, the quarantine measures could be revoked if:
- no new outbreak of COVID-19 is registered within 14 days of suspension or restriction;
- after 7 days, when the manufacturer or service provider provides substantiated evidence to the NVSC that the resumption of activities will no longer pose a risk to human health.
[ad_2]
