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“We must agree that we are waiting for our older adults to be vaccinated, and then we can take more responsibility when our actions pose less risk to the most vulnerable,” the prime minister said after a government meeting on Wednesday.
I. Šimonytė said that he cannot guarantee that we will not have a rapidly spreading mutation or the like, and that foreign examples are such that countries that have lifted the restrictions are sometimes forced to return them again.
I.Šimonytė emphasized that the question of whether the quarantine would not be made stricter had already arisen when the opening of beauty services and some stores was considered.
“It just came to our attention then. It may be. I wouldn’t directly link this increase or decrease or I don’t have enough data to directly link it to the launch of specific services. However, the fact that people’s mobility has increased significantly since this publication, as evidenced by the mobility data, is a fact that should not be denied and I cannot deny it ”, emphasized the Prime Minister when asked if it might be necessary to return to strict quarantine.
During March, the first vaccine will be given to people over the age of 70.
However, I. Šimonytė emphasized that as we move forward and vaccinate more and more people, the restrictions will have to be modified and changed.
He reiterated what he said at a government meeting on Wednesday: People over the age of 70 are expected to be vaccinated with at least the first vaccine during the fight. Your risk of becoming seriously ill or even dying from the virus is the highest.
“Even the first vaccine significantly reduces the risk,” he said.
By vaccinating this group, the prime minister said, people could choose for themselves how much to protect themselves, given possible exemptions from the restrictions.
When asked when business restrictions could be further relaxed, the prime minister said the government expected to make these decisions today as trends looked optimistic last week.
He remarked that if today we had approached or crossed 200 cases, 100 thousand. population within the 14-day limit, the government’s decision on quarantine would have been completely different.
It will depend on whether what we see is the start of a negative trend or some kind of temporary stop.
“It just came to our notice then, but I wouldn’t take it for granted in the first week of March. I would very much like that to happen, but it will depend on whether what we see is the beginning of a negative trend or some kind of temporary stop that stabilizes ”, he emphasized.
Starting more tests will clarify what to do with the movement restrictions
Government at Wednesday’s meeting quarantine extended until April 1 and it is allowed not to wear masks outdoors if there are no other people within 2 meters. Restrictions on movement between municipalities are in effect until at least mid-March, but movement between municipalities in the ring is allowed.
15-minute photo / Quarantine in Lithuania: what will change from Thursday?
Commenting on the decision, the prime minister said he viewed the current situation as a stalemate.
“It just came to our attention then. We have proposed several solutions, which have been planned by the Ministry of Health, to substantially expand the scope of testing,” he said.
According to the Prime Minister, expansion has been called for in the past, but the results are still not very good.
The prime minister said that the space to expand testing was created by more vaccinated doctors who used to test regularly.
“We have agreed that the space will be filled with certain large groups that are evenly distributed in Lithuania,” he said.
According to I.Šimonytė, the expanded scope of the tests will allow to see a more adequate picture of the epidemiological situation in specific municipalities.
Also, according to the prime minister, it will allow us to see what movement restrictions are still needed as of mid-March, if any.
However, he stressed that after the continuation of movement restrictions such as those in effect after March 15, it is unlikely that the government will join.
“I am very hopeful that we can offer other restrictions if necessary to prevent movements to and from municipalities where the situation is much worse than in the rest of Lithuania,” he said.
Creating an immunity passport is pointless
There is no point in creating an immunity passport until it is possible to vaccinate everyone who wants to be vaccinated against COVID-19, said I. Šimonytė
“Today, when the vaccine supply is so low, the Government will certainly not offer an immunity passport, because that would mean that we offer a moose in the forest, not a sparrow in hand, because we don’t have enough vaccines to vaccinate. , for example, anyone who wants to get vaccinated and get that document and maybe move more freely or do other things, “said the prime minister, quoted by BNS.
According to her, such a system would not add value at the moment, as “in principle it would be inaccessible to most people.”
“At the level of the European Union, I think this discussion will take place and it is probably the most practical situation when a brand of this type will be needed, that a person is sick or vaccinated, there will be international travel.” I. Šimonytė said.
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