Šimonytė: During Easter, we will see if we can avoid stricter restrictions.

“You can clearly see from the figures that there is not very good news, but the situation is almost the same as yesterday and the day before yesterday. The number of cases in Vilnius and eastern Lithuania continues to increase, while in other municipalities the situation is slightly But you can’t say it won’t deteriorate either. We are also looking at deteriorating trends elsewhere, “said the Prime Minister.

I. Šimonytė explained that the biggest challenge in the near future is vaccination for the highest risk groups.

“The main challenge and task in the near future is to make the best possible use of these vaccines, which we will receive in large quantities. More than 130,000 doses are or will be delivered to the municipalities this week. Almost 100,000 will be available for the first dose. The municipalities will definitely be able to vaccinate more than a few people at risk, ”he said after the government meeting.

“The vaccine shortage would be difficult to predict in the coming weeks,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that the decisions that the Cabinet is preparing to take after Easter will depend on the situation at the time.

“It mainly depends on how the dynamics will be in the coming days. So it depends on how we all behave together. If we try to celebrate the holidays safely without putting each other too much at risk, there won’t be very significant pressure on the healthcare system. (…) I think there may be very special and difficult decisions that the Government can avoid. I am very happy that in the last week we managed to significantly increase the scope of the tests, ”said I. Šimonytė.

She argued that higher wage rates for vaccinating people on weekends and holidays shouldn’t stop the vaccination process, but rather speed it up.

According to experts, the Prime Minister said it was movement restrictions between the country’s municipalities that prevented the British strain of coronavirus from spreading across the country.

“I know that people are not happy, upset and angry. But the movement restrictions played a role, I think it was positive, “he told a news conference.

“Now the main challenge is to have less of that movement during Holy Week (…). Because they would not want this Easter to repeat what happened last year after All Souls, ”said the Prime Minister.

He said it was next week’s data that would show what other quarantine conditions can be expected.

“Although I understand the well-being of people, I am sorry, I am sorry. With all my heart I am with those who would like to travel. But I beg you to avoid intense contact during Easter, so that we can reduce the rise of the waves. Then after Easter, we could see what the situation was in the hospitals, what the epidemiological situation would be at a government meeting on Tuesday. Then we would decide if additional restrictions are needed. Obviously, the surrounding municipalities in Vilnius will not improve anytime soon But if it doesn’t get worse, maybe even get better, we could go back to partial solutions, “said I. Šimonytė.

Expert advice is expected before implementing the idea of ​​an immunity passport.

The head of government also spoke at a press conference about the so-called immunity passport. First of all, according to I. Šimonytė, an attempt is made to find out which indicators and when they make it possible to identify epidemiologically safe people.

“The key question is the criteria: what human condition can we register for that person to be epidemiologically safe. For example, how long must have passed after vaccination or after each vaccination in the same way? What should be the number of days, how long after the illness can we also record that a person has immunity so that these parameters can be taken from “Health” and verified there to give the person the opportunity to move more freely, participate in some events or visit some places, ”said the Prime Minister.

According to her, expert advice on this issue is now awaited.

“Then other things are the technical programming work that can be done. As we will call that document, it is probably not very important. It is important that it is in line with the European decision, which will be implemented sooner or later,” said I. Šimonytė.

Movement restrictions during the weekend will be insured for more than 3.3 thousand. officers, shooters, military police

Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė also spoke at the press conference. By asking the population to mobilize and comply with quarantine restrictions, he made no secret of special preparations for the upcoming Easter weekend.

“Attention and special forces will be provided. More than 3,300 officers will be used to secure movement restrictions, and we will also invite our social partners, the shooters, to join in. The Public Security Service, the Guard Service of Borders of the State, the agents of the Department of Fire and Rescue and the Military Police ”, informed the Minister.

According to A. Bilotaitė, the positions of officials within the municipalities will be both stationary and mobile.

“Of course this weekend was challenging and we are trying to learn those lessons. We saw congestion, so there were many meetings in which the situation was discussed so that people would experience the least amount of misunderstandings and inconveniences possible, ”noted A. Bilotaitė.

He appealed to residents, asking to go to other municipalities only for an important reason and urging to provide documents that support the purpose of the trip.

“There will definitely be posts, there will definitely be stopped cars, so really do self-assess if you need to go. The police will do everything possible to direct traffic as efficiently as possible and cause as little inconvenience as possible, ”said the Minister.

The Minister reiterated that movement between municipalities is currently prohibited.

“We will definitely look for ways and means to make traffic more fluid. But we really realize one thing: there is a ban on moving between municipalities. There is only one objective reason to go to another municipality. So, I ask for patience, but the police will do everything possible to make the process more fluid ”, promised Minister A. Bilotaitė.

A. Bilotaitė also emphasized that the police will pay attention not only to guarantee movement restrictions, but also to control public spaces and private gatherings.

“Another novelty is that the police will guarantee the control of passengers traveling by train. Be prepared so that the police officers may ask you to provide the necessary documents, “said the interior minister.

He said so far only looking for ways to allow people with a negative test or vaccinated to move around the country. However, by the Easter weekend, these decisions have yet to be made.

Delphi recalls that the quarantine was extended by the Government last week until April 30.