Minister: the situation is still extreme, new cases of coronavirus are not decreasing

When Interior Minister Rita Tamašunienė reported to the media after the meeting, she stated that all situations are currently being prepared.

“We see that the number of cases varies, from 15 to 17 cases, today only a few cases. However, all the institutions are ready, as well as the services: we deal with officials, doctors and their protection teams. Yes sometimes the situation will worsen and become less manageable. The state reserve is also accumulating, and the purchase of the vaccine is planned if it appears on the market, “the minister said after the meeting.

R. Tamašunienė assured that nobody would want to return to the quarantine regime.

“Until now, the situation remains extreme at the state level, because there are cases (new, aut. P.), which are not decreasing. But the decisions made by the operations manager, the strategy directed to certain areas of activity or locally “They are considered the correct way of not creating more tensions in society. Because nobody would want to go back to quarantine. But it is worth maintaining that awareness among residents, a lot depends on it,” said R. Tamašunienė.

He urged residents to look at the lists of countries where the coronavirus situation is worst.

“In any case, it is recommended to visit the picturesque places of Lithuania, rest here so that the virus does not spread in our country,” said R. Tamašunienė at a press conference on Tuesday.

She said she expected the second wave of the coronavirus to overtake Lithuania.

“We still hope that the second wave will not happen in Lithuania and that the vaccine will appear before those waves reach Lithuania.” But yes, both experts and forecasters see that this increase is, depending on public behavior, relaxation. At the moment, it should be emphasized that people are sufficiently protected, some still wear masks, “said R. Tamašunienė about preparations for a possible second wave.

She said that all recommendations should be followed.

“Because those waves will happen, it is likely that it will, because we are traveling, we no longer have the country’s borders closed,” said the minister, adding that the situation is still under control.

Protective measures for voters.

Preparation for the upcoming Seimas elections was also discussed at the meeting, as well as the necessary personal protection measures.

“Elections will be held this year, institutions are preparing, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) presented the need to provide commission members and voters to guarantee the right to participate in elections for all citizens, and they need safeguards, “said Minister R. Tamašunienė.

She said she plans to provide protective gloves and masks not only to members of the electoral commission, but also to all voters who come to vote.

Delphi Remember that the quarantine was introduced in the country from March 16 to June 17, leaving the state of emergency to lift it.

Two new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Lithuania last year, the total number increased to 1949, the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday. As recently as yesterday, 17 new cases of coronavirus were recorded.

Currently, 255 people are still infected with coronavirus, 1601 have recovered, and 89 people are isolated.

Preparing for a possible Astrave accident

The meeting also discussed the willingness of state and municipal institutions to respond to possible nuclear or radiological accidents at the Astrava nuclear power plant in Belarus.

“There is a huge threat, right next to our state border. We all need to be prepared for potential incidents and accidents. We need to be able to respond coherently to that situation. Preparedness is currently being evaluated, now it is more of a strategy to identify the need. Also Several gaps have been revealed in the districts closest to the power plant, in the Švenčionys municipality, “said Minister R. Tamašunienė.

He recalled that iodine tablets have already been distributed to people living 30 kilometers from the Astrava nuclear power plant.

“It is worth remembering that we should all turn to page l72.lt at least once, three key days of what we should be prepared to read, how to deal with a nuclear accident.” and then be as far away from the contaminated area as possible, ”said the minister.

She said that these three rules will allow the responsible authorities to provide the necessary recommendations to the population.

“We take the worst case scenario, everything will depend on the wind direction, the natural conditions, the size of the accident. Prepare yourself,” said the head of the Interior Ministry.

R. Tamašunienė was pleased that the nuclear power plant has not yet started operating, but people living closer to it are already receiving iodine tablets.

And different ministries are already tasked with preparing for a possible disaster.

“We are all planning those scenarios in the near future, tabletop exercises, plan checks,” he said.

Not all municipalities believe in danger.

Saulius Greičius, director of the Department of Fire Protection and Rescue (PAGD), said at a press conference that the state of civil protection in the municipalities was regularly evaluated every three years. But it is clear, according to him, that this is not enough.

“It is definitely not the case that all municipalities are equally prepared. The level of preparation is not the same, they are neither very good nor very bad”, evaluated S. Greičius to the municipalities.

He considered that perhaps the municipalities were not yet serious enough about the danger of Astrava.

“Perhaps it will not happen, and if it happens, the central government will assume responsibility. (…) The municipalities have planned actions at a theoretical level, (…) but since we cannot organize real exercises on the coronavirus, the real image only will appear after them, “said S. Greičius, the head of PAGD.

He stated that all municipalities are inspected under the worst modeled scenario.

“But nobody knows what would happen in that scenario,” he said.