Mandatory tests go into effect on Saturday: Šimonytė explained who will constantly do it



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The government has decided which employees will only be able to work after a prior assessment of the coronavirus. For example, beauty professionals and catering staff will need to test before starting work. Educators and physicians will need to register regularly.

According to the Prime Minister, tests of employees in the fields of health, care and education are regular, regardless of whether the activity has been closed or has already been resumed before.

“These are the areas that are in constant contact with people where the risk is increased. A large proportion of people are vaccinated, but not all. That part of the people who have not been vaccinated will be tested periodically, ”said I. Šimonytė.

According to I. Šimonytė, the obligation to start work with a negative coronavirus test would apply to those activities that are opened or more people return to work due to changes in quarantine requirements.

“This is what we were urged to do by changing the quarantine order in recent weeks, when one activity or another was released and people were encouraged to take the test voluntarily. Some exercised that right, others did not. in the future, when such decisions are made, the obligation to take the test will already be established by law, ”said the Prime Minister.

According to I. Šimonytė, the mandatory testing procedure will come into effect soon. Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys clarified that the mandatory testing procedure will take effect from Saturday.

He also added that new reagents are planned to be introduced in laboratories in the near future to detect dangerous strains of coronavirus.

“In the near future, some laboratories will start using new reagents next week. This will allow us to quickly determine if a person with COVID-19 is infected with a dangerous mutation line,” the minister said at a press conference.

Virus strains are currently being identified through sequencing studies. They continue, according to the minister, identifying cases of more dangerous varieties in the British and South African republics.

According to the latest data released earlier this week, a total of 1,608 samples have been sequenced in Lithuania so far and 225 cases of British and two South African virus lines have been detected. Samples for sequencing are randomly selected.

Following the introduction of mandatory employee testing in the Communicable Diseases Act, the Government approved lists of areas where employees should be inspected once before starting operations, and another list of areas where employees should be inspected once every 7 days. 10 days.

The list of activities for which workers should be tested for coronavirus before starting or resuming their activities includes those that work in the cultural and artistic sectors, physical activity and high performance sports, catering, retail, activities of leisure and entertainment, such as bathrooms, swimming pools, nightclubs, bars, cinemas and other places of entertainment, people who work in the beauty services and accommodation sectors.

Periodically control the disease of people who work in personal health institutions, as well as people who provide cleaning services, food supply or other services in them, who provide practical training in said institutions.

This should also be done by people who provide social services in the beneficiary’s home or facilities and by cleaning, food, and other service providers at those facilities.

All persons providing educational services, including those working in educational institutions, self-employed teachers or educators working elsewhere, should also be regularly inspected. All pharmacy personnel should also be checked periodically.

Patients who are sick or vaccinated will not be required to be tested if they provide supporting documents.

The possibility of providing for mandatory tests and compensation for it was introduced this week by modifying the amendments to the Communicable Diseases Law.

An employee who refuses to verify or fails to do so for very important reasons, depending on the nature of the job, would be assigned to work remotely or transferred to another job at the same workplace.

If such opportunities are not available, you will be suspended without pay until the day you are tested for a contagious disease.

The amendments also stipulate that when an outbreak of a disease is detected in the workplace, workers can only work after they have been screened for the disease. The National Center for Public Health will determine the list of personnel to be examined.

The tests will be financed from the state budget, in accordance with the procedure established by the Government.



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