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Spread of the virus. On Sunday, six new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Lithuania: five, in the newest focus of the Vilnius City Clinical Hospital in Antakalnis, one, for an eleven-year-old boy who flew from Moscow in a private plane. On Monday, three more cases were identified at the “Pušyno kelias” rehabilitation center. Currently, about 80 patients are treated in Lithuanian hospitals, 14 of them under resuscitation. The focus of attention of health professionals remains at the Antaviliai pension, where a survey of the entire population was launched. More than a thousand daycare personnel signed up for preventive coronavirus testing over the weekend, and so far all responses have been negative.
Quarantine mitigation.
Part of the quarantine restrictions have been relaxed since Monday:
* Lithuania and Poland have opened their borders to each other’s citizens to work, do business and study. Such travelers are no longer subject to mandatory 14-day isolation.
* Libraries may use computers, the Internet and other reading rooms, but it is not yet possible to provide periodicals, open collections, children’s libraries (except for publishing books).
The government has started discussions on allowing private parties in open spaces and on the activities of cafes, restaurants and bars within the facilities. Decisions could be made at this cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Proof of a Japanese medicine. Lithuania has officially participated in clinical trials of the drug Avigan, developed by Japanese scientists. Up to one hundred patients will participate in Lithuania.
At the initiative of the President. President Gitanas Nausėda presented the proposal to parliamentary party leaders to temporarily reduce the personal income tax from 20 to 15 percent, but received a mixed reaction. Ramūnas Karbauskis, the leader of the peasants, and Vilius Šapoka, the Minister of Finance, say that the rulers are not considering reducing the tax rate, but increasing the amount of non-taxable income. Liberals enthusiastically supported the president’s idea, and conservative leader Gabriel Landsberg said he “did not see the initiative negatively.” The opposition leader also asked the government to submit a revised draft budget to Seimas, rather than just individual laws, as has been the case so far.
Small business grants. Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis announced that small businesses affected by the crisis, with up to nine employees, will be able to apply to the Tax Inspectorate for one-off grants starting Tuesday. Grants are promised to be paid within three business days. The amount of the benefits will depend on the taxes paid last year, if up to 1,000 were paid last year. EUR GPM: the subsidy will reach 500 euros, from 1 to 2 thousand. EUR GPM – 1 thousand. if it is more, the subsidy will be equal to half the PIT paid. Up to 100 million euros are earmarked for this measure.
Optimism in the labor market. The government reported that last week, employers hired most people since the quarantine began. Deputy Foreign Minister Lukas Savickas says these statistics bear witness to the recovery in the labor market.
Allocations for officials. More than 30 Seimas members have registered a bill so that officers working in virus zones receive between 60 and 100 percent during quarantine. Size supplements to salary, just like doctors. Opposition politicians are mainly among the initiators of the law, but Interior Minister Rita Tamašunienė also contributed to the initiative.
Delays in flights. Latvian airline Air Baltic has postponed plans to resume flights from Vilnius to Riga. It was previously planned to start on May 13, the new date is still unclear.
Criticism of the Labor Inspection. The State Labor Inspectorate, which conducted the inspection, announced that health care institutions in districts pay too little attention to ensure the safety and health of medical personnel, and tests of medical personnel to detect COVID disease. -19 in personal healthcare facilities in large cities are slow.
Offenses The government reported that a quarter of the outlets inspected by the State Food and Veterinary Service do not guarantee quarantine conditions, and most of the violations are in small grocery stores. Generally, they are penalized for failing to check worker temperatures before work and for not providing the necessary information about requirements at the entrances. For its part, the Financial Crime Investigation Service announced that it had identified eight companies where employees worked during downtime.
Patient studies. From now on, not only a family doctor but also a specialist doctor will be able to prescribe a mandatory test for coronavirus infection in hospitalized patients.
Abroad:
* After a month-long break, China identified several new cases of coronavirus infection in the pandemic city of Wuhan, China, which became the original epicenter of the pandemic, while South Korea recorded the highest number of new cases. in over a month. These cases raised fears of a second wave of infections.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the period of unemployment announced in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic will be canceled as of Tuesday. A record number of new cases were detected in the country per day: 11 thousand. 656. The official number of victims exceeded 2,000. .
* UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed not to quarantine travelers arriving in Britain from France, the Elysee House said.
* Two new cases per day have been identified in Estonia and seven in Latvia. The Estonian government has announced that after the resumption of communication with Finland on May 14, the people arriving will be evaluated on the ships.
* The Netherlands has opened primary schools, but the number of children in classes has been cut in half. Students are divided into morning and afternoon shifts or attend school on different days of the week.
* Saudi Arabia, suffering from the coronavirus crisis and low oil prices, has announced as much as 15 percent. It will increase the value added tax and suspend monthly subsistence allowances.
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