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“I really want to go back to normal life,” the girl he met in Vilnius told LNK News. Unfortunately, so far restaurant billing has dropped dramatically and the pre-pandemic level is still a long way off.
“We just realized that getting in was still very slow. Because all the young people who went to restaurants, they just don’t have passports yet or they are not yet valid. It is still bad for business hotels because there are no foreigners and it is not clear when They will be, ”says Evalda Šiškauskienė, president of the Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association.
It is true that the situation may be aggravated by a dangerous mutation of the virus in India, which is getting closer and closer to Lithuania. The authorities promise efforts to trace this strain and isolate the sick.
Scientists have no doubt that Delta The mutation that bears his name will definitely arrive in Lithuania.
“It’s a matter of time,” says virologist Gytis Dudas.
“However, vaccination with both vaccines protects 80 percent of the disease,” he says. “We have a variety that not only spreads more efficiently, but at the same time can find its way between vaccinated and unvaccinated people.” It seems to me that if we stop at only fifty percent of the vaccinated population, I think we should expect problems and prepare ourselves, ”says virologist Gytis Dudas.
Doesn’t rule out a new wave of disease
It is true that scientists do not rule out a new wave of diseases either.
“Any very altered strain can really cause those extra ripples,” says immunologist Aurelija Žvirblienė.
“People who travel through airports still mix with other people, of course that is a risk. So this summer, while the pandemic is in full swing, it would probably not be a good choice to travel somewhere far away. “, He says.
© DELFI / Josvydas Elinskas
According to the virologist, the Delta strain is much more widespread, more likely to hospitalize people, and more resistant to vaccines. The virus is dangerous both for those who are already sick and for those who have already been vaccinated.
On Monday, only 66 cases were detected in Lithuania, and authorities spoke about ending the quarantine.
The government approved new quarantine requirements on Monday: there are no more restrictions on working hours for cafes, the requirements for obtaining a passport have been relaxed and the work of educational institutions has been simplified.
“The situation is improving, but the quarantine cannot be lifted yet,” said Živilė Simonaitytė, Deputy Minister of Health, who introduced the changes.
The changes will go into effect on Thursday.
Cafes, bars, restaurants and other catering and entertainment venues will no longer be subject to opening hours. Current quarantine requirements allow them to operate from 7 to 24 hours.
“An important change related to the working hours of public catering establishments, both internally with the opportunity passport and outdoors: we propose not to limit their working hours,” said Ž. Simonaitytė.
The condition is still in force that the requested food and beverages must be consumed at the tables in the open spaces, and the activities carried out in the open spaces.
As before, only those who have the passport of opportunity will be able to receive services internally: vaccinated, sick or with a negative result in the COVID-19 test.
It has also been confirmed that people with coronavirus will be vaccinated with a single dose of the vaccine. Related to this are some changes to the passport options.
People like full vaccinations will be able to use the passport for an indefinite period under milder quarantine conditions, but it will take two weeks after vaccination.
Among other things, for people who are sick and not vaccinated, the freer quarantine conditions are valid for 210 days instead of 180 as now.
The ministry’s proposal also extended the validity of the antigen test from 24 to 48 hours.
At present, people coming to Lithuania need to be tested for COVID-19 no earlier than 72 hours, they are also subject to isolation, with the exception of people who have been sick and vaccinated.
According to SAM, the deadlines for test arrivals have been slightly adjusted: the PCR test, as before, should be performed no earlier than 72 hours and the antigen test no earlier than 48 hours.
Currently, vaccinated individuals can arrive without additional testing one week after the second dose of Pfizer, two weeks after the second dose of Moderna, 15 days after the second dose of AstraZeneca, or two weeks after a single dose. from Johnson & Johnson.
At the suggestion of the Ministry, the procedure will be harmonized and it will be possible to enter without proof two weeks after the full vaccination schedule, as well as people who have been vaccinated and vaccinated with a single dose two weeks after vaccination and confirmed. by PCR.
Requirements for relapsed patients remain unchanged and they are admitted without restriction within 180 days of confirmation of disease by PCR.
The government also allowed non-formal education of children to take place in the form of contact, with a maximum of 30 children per group being able to participate in indoor activities at the same time and in children’s camps.
Non-formal adult contact education and non-formal vocational training are also allowed.
10 square meters. meters per person or no more than one person can participate at a time. These rules may not apply when only vaccinated people participate.
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