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The decision on the spread of the new coronavirus in the country was made by the Latvian government on Friday, February 5, reports Delfi.lv.
The government decision clarifies that entry to Latvia is only allowed for urgent and important reasons such as work, studies, family matters, treatment, transit and escort of minors, return to the place of residence or funeral.
Additionally, epidemiological safety requirements will continue to apply, which means that those arriving in Latvia will still need to take the COVID-19 test and comply with self-isolation.
It is also announced that international passenger services through airports, ports and buses from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal and to these countries will be temporarily suspended due to the proliferation of new variants of COVID-19.
The Latvian government and the crisis management council agreed in a joint meeting on Tuesday to extend the state of emergency in the country until April 6, Prime Minister Krišjanis Karinis told the media.
An emergency was declared on November 9, involving measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.
According to the prime minister, the government agreed on Tuesday in principle to change security measures to make them more effective and understandable. Limitations in three areas were discussed: commerce, travel, and education.
Mr. Karinis noted that it was planned to move to a secure commerce model by tightening control over the number of shoppers in stores. If violations are detected, the police will be able to make decisions about closing the stores. In addition, it is planned to phase out the special product lists.
Starting next week, there will be no so-called “prohibited products” in supermarkets.
Starting next week, it will be possible to buy all the products in specific stores in Latvia, in addition, the bookstores will resume their operations, announces the Latvian news agency LETA.
Latvian Economy Minister Janis Vitenberg reported on Twitter that the country’s government conceptually supported the concept of “safe trade” on Twitter.
Security requirements will be stricter, but some stores will already be able to sell all products. These are stores where food or hygiene items represent at least 70 percent. range as well as bookstores.
“During the transition period from February 8, the full range of products will be available in stores that mainly sell food and hygiene products, as well as in bookstores,” wrote J. Witenberg on Twitter.
Stores will have to meet extremely stringent requirements, including controlling customer flows and meeting a safe distance. There must be an internal security control system and those responsible must be designated.
The Ministry of Economy has indicated that the government has agreed in principle to its proposal for a safe trade model and that the transition to this model will begin on February 8, expanding the list of goods that can be marketed in stores. Stores will need to manage customer flows more effectively, ensuring compliance with social distance, even in entry and exit areas. Marketing activities that encourage people to visit stores will be prohibited.
According to the prime minister, the government will decide later on whether further action can be taken.
The restrictions could be revised after about three weeks, Karinis said. According to him, the Ministry of Health proposes to evaluate the epidemiological situation every three weeks.
It was also decided to restrict entry to Latvia from Great Britain, Portugal and Ireland, where a much more contagious strain of coronavirus is spreading.
In the field of education, it is planned to return to the formation of safe contacts. It will initially be updated for 1st and 2nd grade students, subject to comprehensive epidemiological safety measures.
During the meeting, the report of the Ministry of Health on the incidence of COVID-19 in Latvia and the necessary security measures was heard. The ministry proposed a new risk management strategy based on the “traffic light” principle and four sets of epidemiological indicators to establish limits.
Latvia is currently in the first category “dark red”.
The state of emergency in Latvia can last as long as this category is in effect, but it can be lifted once the country can be classified in the second “red” category. This would happen if the two-week morbidity were reduced to 100-200 cases per 100,000 cases. population. Restrictions on meetings, commerce, individual indoor sports training, contact training, catering could then be relaxed.
Third, the “orange” category is advertised when the two-week morbidity is 20 to 100 cases per 100,000. population. At this stage, the restrictions could be further relaxed: meetings, commerce, visits to cultural institutions, indoor sports training would be allowed.
The fourth category, “green,” is associated with 20 cases per 100,000. population with a morbidity of two weeks. Then it would be possible to return to a normal life with little moderation.
The Ministry of Health has indicated that in the future it is necessary to strengthen measures against the introduction of COVID-19 from abroad and the spread of the virus in the country, prohibiting non-essential trips and demanding the declaration of the purpose of the trip. It is also proposed to reduce the number of groups of people exempted from COVID-19 testing and self-isolation upon arrival in Latvia and to strengthen the surveillance of epidemiological security measures.
In Latvia, 11,465 new cases of COVID-19 coronavirus infection were detected last day in 11,495 tests and 28 previously infected people died, the Center for Disease Prevention and Control reported on Friday.
The day before, 742 new cases of COVID-19 and 31 deceased patients were reported.
The most recent victims of the coronavirus pandemic are people between the ages of 55 and 95.
Since the start of the pandemic in Latvia, a total of 70,276 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, and 1,309 people living with coronavirus have died.
The incidence of COVID-19 in the last two weeks in Latvia is 560.4 cases per 100 thousand. population.
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