Chief of Police: There are problems with meetings in public places, they will have to be solved

Emphasis on the fundamental problem

Police Commissioner General Renatas Požėla stated that the main problem of the holiday weekend, the meetings in public spaces, will be reacted more strictly on the New Year weekend.

“What we will really pay attention to on the New Year’s weekend are the places that are suitable for recreation: parks, beaches. (…) Several people come at the same time. We can certainly see that there are individuals without masks, wearing them irregularly, gathering. It was a long weekend problem, “said R. Požėla.

He suggested restricting the municipalities’ access to Christmas trees, renouncing the festive fireworks.

R. Požėla stated that he does not really offer to close the parks.

“I talk more about the organization of our work, I had some contacts with our colleagues during the long weekend, I asked to pay attention to those public spaces. However, next Saturday Sunday, so that we can have more capacity to plan who would physically arrive and be in public spaces, it would avoid possible quarantine violations, “said the General Commissioner of Police.

As Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė told the press after the meeting, an attempt will be made to solve this problem together with the municipalities.

“People are actively gathering in certain public places, gathering in large numbers, so it was decided to ask municipalities to take, perhaps in cooperation with the police, to avoid possible gatherings in public places,” said A. Bilotaitė .

It changes when you see the real situation

As Interior Minister A. Bilotaitė told the press after the meeting, it is still difficult to assess the epidemiological situation and suggest possible changes to the quarantine rules.

“After listening to the information from SAM, we realized that it is possible to assess the impact of the measures at this time. Because it is still difficult to predict because the information is not accurate. The most accurate forecasts will be available in early January, when the number of diseases and trends will become clear, “the minister said.

In a press conference held after the meeting, Interior Minister A. Bilotaitė stated that the current procedure will remain in force until it is clear how the current restrictions have changed the epidemiological situation.

“When evaluating this and the information on people’s mobility, it was presented that it has decreased significantly, it is rewarding, the measures are working, people are staying at home. (…) We have decided to leave the current order – decide on additional actions already after the holidays, at the beginning of January ”, said A. Bilotaitė.

New cases

Last day 1773 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Lithuania, 15 more people died from COVID-19, the Department of Statistics reported on Monday.

305 patients also recovered on the last day.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 132,000 people have been infected with COVID-19. 369 people, 68 thousand. 370 – still sick, 62 thousand. 98 – congratulated.

A total of 1,269 people died from coronavirus in Lithuania and 632 people died from other causes.

Last day 5,293 samples were analyzed for suspected coronavirus, bringing the total number of samples analyzed since the start of the pandemic to 1 million. 587 thousand 999.