NVSC chief Petraitis explained why he did not voluntarily resign

“Personally, I see big problems and today I suggested to the respected Petraitis that, in my opinion, the best option would be for him to resign from his current position,” A. Dulkys told reporters on Friday.

In a brief press conference on Monday, Mr. Petraitis explained the reasons for his decision and outlined his position on the criticisms made.

“Someone has to be sacrificed to” undo “the situation”

“SAM’s public opinion about the shortcomings of my activities as director of NVSC is unfounded. I have not heard that justification from either the Minister or other responsible persons. I only heard very clear political statements that something must be sacrificed to ‘undo’ the situation and make it calmer, “Petraitis told reporters on Monday.

The head of the NVSC added: “As I have already mentioned, I have not heard any arguments about my activities. It is very clear from what is said in public that there are none. It is just a political solution to divert everyone’s attention from the existing problems.

In addition to the absence of arguments, I received a proposal to leave the NVSC in the form of an agreement, subject to certain terms of the agreement, which I will not go into detail. In my opinion, that should be done by SAM, who will apparently be able to explain the reasons for that decision.

After evaluating this, I decided to continue my work at the National Center for Public Health. “

R. Petraitis promised that if the deficiencies of the NVSC’s systemic activity or his own were identified, as head of the institution, he would definitely take responsibility and not avoid it.

Lingiene was not consulted on the decision

According to the NVSC director, the decision not to resign was made in consultation with colleagues, family and relatives.

“After receiving support, I made that decision, but it is my own decision,” said R. Petraitis.

After clarifying whether Rolanda Lingiene, the head of the Vilnius Department of the NVSC, was consulted on this decision, R. Petraitis said no.

Unaccounted deaths have been criticized

A wave of criticism came when it became clear that more than a thousand deaths from COVID-19 had not been recorded in the information released by the NVSC. Mr. Petraitis argued that this was not due to the fault of his institution, but rather because the hospitals had not provided the information in accordance with the established procedure. He says people are reluctant to interact with epidemiologists because of unfounded criticism of policies.

Due to the unaccounted deaths, R. Petraitis saw neither his own fault nor that of the NVSC.

“Because the main topic, as you know, was the deaths, as I said, I gave an explanation of the deaths to both the ministry and the public.

Probably all of you are clear that in this situation the NVSC cannot be blamed when certain system links are not working.

Speaking only of the criticism that we do not investigate all cases epidemiologically, I want to assure you that the epidemiological investigation of cases in Lithuania is really high. We study about 90 percent. cases, we identify the exposed persons involved in those cases and isolate them.

And the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control says that around 70% of investigated cases are a sufficient and effective indicator for managing a pandemic.

Therefore, in December, NVSC specialists contacted 9 out of 10 people with confirmed coronavirus infection.

The information given to the public that NVSC specialists have not contacted people with confirmed coronavirus infection since the summer is incorrect, ”R. Petraitis is convinced.

However, the NVSC director did not deny that there were errors: “Looking back, when something could be done and better, more efficiently.”

“Chopping off the head is not the main tool for infection control”

The head of the NVSC also said: “I hope that all those responsible remember that cutting the head is not the main tool to manage the infection. Because if it were an infection control tool, it would actually be very easy to handle a pandemic. “

When asked how he plans to continue working without support from above, Mr. Petraitis said: “I am open to cooperation, always ready to make proposals for new measures necessary to manage the pandemic. We are currently monitoring the stabilization of the situation. Hopefully, the morbidity rate will start to decline steadily in the near future. Once again, new pandemic management measures should be considered so that the publication of strict quarantine management measures does not make the situation worse. “

The decision would not be challenged in court.

According to the BNS news agency, according to the minister, if the head of the NVSC did not agree to withdraw, A. Dulkis would have to “find another way” and take “more bureaucratic actions”.

If the Minister decided to try to remove R. Petraitis, the head of the NVSC stated that he did not intend to challenge such a decision in court: “I really don’t want that. I strive to do the work assigned to me, I want it to be done with quality and I demand it from the institution’s staff. In fact, as I said, if any systemic weaknesses are identified, I will take responsibility. “

Listed changed priorities

According to R. Petraitis, NVSC’s activities are constantly being optimized and adjusted to the current situation.

“When the number of cases was very high, there was also a great need for personnel to investigate the cases epidemiologically. They were assisted by volunteers.

Currently we see other priorities for the institution: ensuring the control of immunoprophylaxis at the beginning of mass vaccination, that is, controlling the cold chain and establishing the vaccination points themselves.

We also see the prospect of applying preventive measures in educational establishments, in cooperation with public health offices and training their specialists, since these are the establishments that must open first, reducing quarantine, returning to the organization of education of Contact.

as well [ketiname] to improve the legal quarantine measures, the implementation of local quarantine measures so that the same situation does not recur in autumn, when in a very short time from a sufficiently stable situation it deteriorated significantly and strict quarantine measures had to be introduced “.