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When aircraft from the UK and other foreign countries affected by COVID-19 can land in Lithuania again, the Vilnius Municipality Public Order Department monitors how visitors arrive in Vilnius meet the requirement of spending 10 days in solitary confinement.
As of January 7. during the week, officials inspected 322 arrivals. 4 protocols were drawn up, subpoenas were sent to two more people for the imposition of administrative sanction, and this could be done after the quarantine ended.
Although it is possible to go for a walk during the self-isolation period (except those in the UK and South Africa), it is forbidden to go more than 1 km from the isolation point and visit meeting places and therefore shops. The law also provides for more exceptions that require NVSC permits: death of relatives, planning their weddings, going to medical facilities or mobile points, etc. Violation of this procedure is subject to a fine of between 250 and 1,500 euros.
“While many are optimistic about the decline in the number of COVID-19 infections over the past week, its success is still very fragile, it could be wiped out by a new coronavirus flight, so it is important to ensure that visitors do not violate the self-isolation rules, “said the Vilnius city administration director. Podersky.
Specialists from the Public Order Division first remind returnees of the rules of self-isolation by sending letters. Subsequently, people receive calls and, in case of suspected non-compliance, visits from officials. Officers also use drones when checking personalities.
The first week of evaluation showed that people sometimes decide to break self-isolation rules when they want to visit loved ones or buy food. Today, a woman was administratively punished for leaving a city hotel to isolate herself without permission from the NVSC.
“In spring and even in summer, when the sample of identified cases was relatively small, all those returning from abroad had to be isolated for 14 days instead of 10, without the right to take a walk or send a pet. It is a pity that minor restrictions are not being observed now, ”said Adomas Bužinskas, deputy director of the Vilnius city administration.
The control function would be facilitated by various adjustments to the arrival registration procedure applied by the National Center for Public Health. It is important for the control to have as much information as possible, and some important data is missing in the questionnaire completed by the returnees.
“It would be important to record the purpose and profession of a person’s arrival in Lithuania in the questionnaires, it would be valuable to have some kind of personal identification solution, preferably electronic, so that it would not be possible to avoid self-isolation control records by addresses non-existent postal or housing, “Poderskis said. “Otherwise, it will be agreed that some people will disappear from the inspection field.”
At the same time, Vilnius law enforcement specialists would suggest reviewing the isolation requirements at home, when isolation is allowed while living with other people (no contact). The specified principles (living in separate rooms, minimizing the use of common space, disinfecting, ventilating) are practically not controlled.
All these proposals were forwarded by the Vilnius City Administration to the Ministry of Health.
