In Poland, the incidence of coronavirus has increased further: Lithuania’s reaction is called a complete misunderstanding

Last Friday, Lithuania added France and Malta to the list of countries at risk, and the list went into effect yesterday. The updated list should now be released only next Friday, with mandatory self-isolation for newly added countries starting next Monday. The list includes those countries with a coronavirus incidence rate of 100,000. There are more than 16 in the last 14 days.

Although last Friday Poland, for which Lithuanians are attracted to both shopping and pleasure, had not reached this indicator, the situation changed significantly over the weekend. In Poland, the morbidity rate was 17.2 on Sunday, reaching 17.9 on Monday. The situation is similar with the Netherlands, where the rate rose to 18.2 over the weekend, reaching 19.2 on Monday.

Despite the rapidly changing situation, the government is in no rush to add these countries to the list of countries at risk.

As Kęstutis Butvydas, Advisor to the Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Algirdas Monkevičius, Deputy Minister of Health, Aurelijus Verygas, told Delfi on Monday, the list of affected countries will not be changed yet, the list of countries will be reviewed on Fridays, it will enter effective only next Monday.

In other words, those who return from Poland this week will not have to isolate themselves yet, but next week such a requirement may already exist.

Kasiulevičius: trends can be seen two weeks before

Professor Vytautas Kasiulevičius, head of the Santara Clinics Family Medicine Center, was not inclined to criticize the decision not to include Poland in the list of severely affected countries.

“I don’t see anything wrong with the fact that a decision will be made on Friday.” Each indicator is a contractual matter and on which we make an agreement, and then execute it. I think that people’s interests are paramount here and should be taken into account. It is already possible to report that such a decision is likely to be made on Friday and that these people should think about when planning their trips or going from that country to Lithuania.

No one can tell how many people change their risk, if that rate is 16, 17 or 15. It is probably not very different because it depends on where you are in Poland. In southern Poland, for example, the risk of infection is several times higher than in northern Poland. Again, there are huge disproportions in the country itself. It is very difficult to answer what will happen to those people who have been in that area at that excessive rate. Will they necessarily be infected? Definitely not. Maybe it is or not, “V. Kasiulevičius told Delfi.

He saw a much bigger problem in informing travelers, because news of compulsory isolation is often unexpected for many Lithuanians returning from abroad. According to the professor, epidemiologists should be kept informed of the trends they see, in which countries the situation is deteriorating, where it is not advisable to go because restrictions may be imposed.

“I think the biggest problem is alerting people ahead of time so they can plan their trips abroad. Because now they usually discover unexpectedly that a certain country is on the list and they will have to isolate themselves. People buy tickets in advance, plan routes, etc. I think the trends can really be seen two weeks ahead. “I also posted in Poland or the Netherlands on my Facebook, people need to be aware of that situation,” he said.

The doctor noted that the incidence in Lithuania and Poland differed several times and advised to carefully evaluate the risks.

“It must be recognized the fact that the indicators for Poland are several times different from those for Lithuania. If the indicator for Poland today is approximately 17, then the indicator for Lithuania is approximately 6. That difference is almost three times, which means that the risk is greater ”, said the interlocutor.

Letter: an absolute misunderstanding

Professor Alvydas Laiškonis, who has many years of experience as an infectious disease and epidemiologist, was much stricter. The doctor said he did not understand why seeing the deteriorating situation in the neighboring state delayed decisions.

“Absolute misunderstanding, incompetence, because after receiving such data, it must be done immediately (mandatory self-isolation -” Delfi “). There is an emergency commission for this. Now, waiting for another week, we will only bring those cases. I have seen it and I am surprised, of course, now everyone is on vacation, there is nothing to be surprised about.

You see, now the world economy is higher than people’s lives. What will be the consequences? During that time, people will move from one country to another, we know how many people are going to buy, and of course we will bring symptomatic and asymptomatic coronavirus infections. And whatever it is, we can be happy later if we explain it “successfully,” he said.

According to the professor, experienced epidemiologists should encourage immediate decisions in such cases. The doctor also did not agree with V. Kasiulevičius’s idea that it is necessary to prepare for self-isolation.

What other separate preparation is needed? If we are burning, do firefighters still have five days to prepare to put out the fire? ”Said A. Laiškonis.

According to the interlocutor, the increasing number of infections in Lithuania cannot yet be considered the second wave of coronavirus, since the first wave is still ongoing.

“In the 45 years that I worked as an infectious disease and epidemiologist, the infection is undulating like a sinusoid. Now we have that undulating sinusoid that fits very well with the old epidemiological law: we stop in one place, we get up in another. So far, I don’t treat it as a second wave, as it agrees with the classics of epidemiology. It is a continuous and undulating wave, “explained the doctor.

Claims to skip a day

Rolanda Lingienė, head of the Vilnius department of the National Center for Public Health (NVSC), said on Monday that the recorded jump in Poland is so far only one day.

“As a specialist, I can say that the situation needs to be monitored. You see, countries are generally included in the list of affected countries when the incidence in them is 100,000. The population exceeds a certain rate in the last 14 days. One day It can really lead to nothing, it can lead to, and the situation can continue to be unstable. But the fact is that the incidence of coronavirus in our neighboring country is a matter of concern for epidemiologists, because we go there and visit it quite frequently. ” R. Lingienė told reporters on Monday.

She said cases of coronavirus imported from Poland are now being reported.

“One day is not a 14-day illness,” he explained.