Not only the opposition has not survived: the quarantine has been exhausted, it is time to lift the restrictions on movement

The lifting of restrictions on movement between municipalities is called not only by members of the opposition, but also by members of the ruling majority.

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On Monday, the WEU will discuss the release of restrictions on movement between municipalities.

“We are preparing for the release of restrictions on movement between municipalities, so we need to have a good discussion and find suitable models so that municipalities where the situation is not bad are not among those where morbidity will increase drastically again. It is also necessary to guarantee a greater volume of evidence, ”the press release quoted Agnė Bilotait, Interior Minister and president of the Government’s Emergency Commission.

Delphi Remember that in the last days of February, the government allowed movement between the main cities and neighboring municipalities. These instructions are valid for the cities and districts of Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys and Alytus.

Paluck: You have to stop dealing with nonsense.

Gintautas Paluckas, member of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) who works in the opposition Seimas Delphi He said that to date it is surprising that restrictions on movement between the country’s municipalities have not been lifted.

“It just came to our attention then. This quarantine measure essentially compromises the entire quarantine package. It is absolutely ineffective. I can bet that now I can get in the car and drive all over Lithuania, no one will stop. This measure is inconsistent.” said the parliamentarian.

He stressed that the number of cars in reverse compared to actual car traffic shows that this measure is extremely ineffective.

“It costs an inappropriate amount of hassle both for society and psychologically. Because it is a kind of traffic jam, a cabin next to it has to carry documents somewhere to take them. And that prohibition is ridiculously circumvented, what is the secret here that property documents can be done online for a few euros, ”said G. Paluckas.

The politician said the movement restrictions were ineffective and very annoying.

“It just came to our knowledge then. I don’t even know why the political will is missing. I am not criticizing the experts, they offer a range of measures from 0 to 100. But it is the experts’ job to propose a set of measures, and it is the responsibility of politicians to choose the most effective of that group. ”Seimas G. Paluckas member highlighted.

He considered that restrictions on circulation should be left only on holidays, March 11 or Easter itself.

“But everything else … We have to stop that imitation and do nonsense,” said the politician.

“I wonder why there is a lack of political will to withdraw this measure. I really don’t understand it,” said G. Paluckas.

He asked the Interior Minister, A. Bilotaitė, to find the courage to offer to lift this restriction.

“What you fear, for the love of God, what you fear, here is my question to the Minister. All the parameters are clear, the efficiency is clear, even the experts talk about it, the application of this tool is complicated, but getting around it is not difficult. Why? It annoys the public a lot. The benefits are small, a lot of hassle. And there is no political will to cancel it? ”Asked a representative from the LSDP.

Paluck said he understood that the current government was feeling fearful on its shoulders.

“The fear of not giving God what percentage has risen. But I want to say honestly, that virus will be there, it will circulate until we vaccinate people, it will be half waves, waves, waves for a long time. ” Delphi LSDP spokesman G. Paluck said.

Matulas: The quarantine is over

Antanas Matulas, representative of the National Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), president of the Seimas Health Affairs Committee, also agreed that the restrictions on movement between municipalities have already been lifted, it is time to abolish them.

“Lithuania’s situation is slowly but steadily decreasing, the situation is improving. I think we are on the right path to be gradually released. Now, the restriction of movement between municipalities is not as beneficial as it is happening. People are moving.” Delphi said a representative from TS-LKD.

He stressed the need to learn to live with the virus, you just can’t stop everything.

“I think the release should take place from mid-March,” Matul said.

The interlocutor considered that the restrictions in the individual municipalities of the country should not bring much benefit either.

“I believe that very high restrictions should not be applied between municipalities, even with different morbidity. Lithuania is too small a country to be able to apply such a restriction and benefit from it, ”said the conservative.

It is much more important, depending on the interlocutor, to follow hygiene and personal requirements.

“There are other logical ways, because the quarantine has already been exhausted. This restriction of movement between municipalities is no longer effective. While the police were on their feet, there were, but also many found ways. But now I see that people travel the way they do, especially on the weekends. ” Delphi said A. Matulas.

Veryga: Imagine what a nightmare it will be for the police and the residents.

Aurelijus Veryga Delfi, a representative of the Lithuanian Opposition Greens and Peasants Union (LVŽS) and a former health minister, said he had not discussed the necessary security measures while on the move.

“People must first be reminded of what is important to do while moving. Because the move itself probably doesn’t pose a high risk. If you go somewhere and have contacts, that is important. I lack clarity about what to say to people, if the movement resumes, if we start driving, paying attention again, things become more free, it is important not to forget certain things.

When you go with relatives, it is safe to do this: wear a mask, do not forget to disinfect your hands. But I don’t listen to all this, I only listen to the discussion about the trip itself, which is not a risk factor, “said A. Veryga.

The politician argued that quarantine and movement releases would be difficult to implement and understand according to the epidemiological situation of the municipalities.

“Such local quarantines, in my opinion, make sense if it is a small number of municipalities, perhaps only a few that can be effectively supervised, control the movement.” But if we distribute the number of these municipalities throughout Lithuania and there are at least 10 of them … Imagine what a nightmare it will be for the police and residents, ”said the deputy.

He argued that such a solution would only bring more confusion and ignorance to the population.

“It would seem logical to me to do so if there are few municipalities that need to be controlled effectively,” Veryga said.

The former health minister said he expected movement restrictions to be lifted.

“I think we should end these movement restrictions, they exhaust people, the police. We need to take what has been promised many times, but we do not see it: increase the tests. (…) We even see a kind of movement before using the proposed tools: tests, vaccines. There is rage and reluctance to try, to get vaccinated, as a means of resistance. (…) The public needs good knowledge, if we all do it in some way, we protect ourselves, we act responsibly, then we can move, we can meet, ”said A. Veryga.

Medal: restrictions can be reviewed, but with caution

Representative of the ruling majority, Vice President of the Seimas, Representative of the Freedom Party in the Seimas Vytautas Mitalas Delphi First of all, I wanted to remind you of the current positive situation in Lithuania.

“We need to send a very clear message to the public that we are in a very good position to handle the COVID-19 situation so far. And while in other European countries the situation is quite complicated, such as Estonia, Finland is experiencing an absolute peak. of cases throughout the history of quarantines, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are in major crises. It seems that Lithuania has recovered and this is the first good news, in general, all people now living in a viral environment controlled they should admit it ”, said V. Mitalas.

The Seimas member said that he understood that the result was the desire and even the need to spend more time in nature, outdoors.

“I think these restrictions can be reviewed. Only I would propose that this be done with caution. The restrictions on movement between municipalities are, in my opinion, the kind that can be changed a little, can be released,” said V. Mitalas .

He stated that he could already be allowed to go to another municipality for rural tourism services, subject to all specified requirements.

“They can be reviewed. But I hope that the MIA with experts will find that plan. This direction seems promising to me, it would certainly be possible to change the restrictions between municipalities a little more, ”said a member of the Freedom Group in parliament.

The politician assumed that if some business and service sector liberalization has already been done in all municipalities of the country, it will not become a base to move to other municipalities.

And they have also emphasized that communication between different families is not yet free. Then we could allow at least one family to change the environment, go further, take a walk through the forests of Varėna ”, said V. Mitalas to his proposal.

So far, the politician has been reluctant to comment on the possibility of releasing quarantine and movement restrictions within municipalities or their groupings. He urged to wait next week, check morbidity figures, and then make a decision.

“I would say that although sometimes it is difficult for the public to understand because they expect a long-term plan. But life is such that the situation can change very strongly every week, it is difficult to plan distant landmarks, it would not be effective. It is better to look at the statistics every week and make certain decisions based on them, ”said V. Mitalas.

Mital said that all decisions should be made by the government next Wednesday.