Police plan to strengthen forces on the beach: people flock to the beach and don’t wear masks

Vytautas Kasiulevičius, professor of medical sciences, emphasizes that the evil is not that people walk in the open air in the parks or by the sea, but that there is no elementary order: they gather in various family farms, no more wearing masks, no there is distance.

When asked by Klaipeda Mayor Vytautas Grubliauskas if restrictions on Klaipeda residents’ access to Klaipeda beaches were promised at least on weekends, he replied: “It would appeal to people’s awareness that the virus is in the coast and that Prohibitions and penalties alone will not change everything. There are already many restrictions and prohibitions, but the problem is different, not everyone follows them.

On the other hand, next to each person in the field under the police they do not stop to review everyone’s documents, ask if there are relatives and the like. This is incomprehensible to the mind. Maybe we should use shooters, soldiers who would take care a little, because when people see that they are being watched, naturally, they follow the rules more ”.

He acknowledged that last weekend, as he himself says, “he showed that when the sun shines, people go to the beach at the same time and it is no longer a walk but a magic” and urges people to hold on a little and to concentrate.

“I understand that sitting at home one weekend – 4 days, the next weekend – 3 days is not easy. I think many people want to breathe fresh air, feel the roar of the sea, but let’s also think about our health. they were aware, it would be different, and now only when the sun was shining, the crowd of people from the sea gate to Karklė would fly at the same time.

I myself live near the sea, I was not by the sea, but I saw photos. I try to take a walk in the woods early in the morning or in the evening when it is less crowded. Everyone’s conscience is needed, and considering closing beach parking lots is no way out. We reduced the number of shuttle buses, including and – to the beach. I hope people learn from last weekend’s mistakes and become more aware. I would not like to take too strict measures, “said the mayor of Klaipeda.

Consider additional forces

On Monday, a meeting of the Government Emergency Commission (WESC) identified an almost fundamental problem of the long vacation weekend: meetings in public places, including on the coast.

“What worries and what we would really pay attention to on New Year’s weekend are the gatherings of people in public places suitable for recreation: parks, beaches. (…) A few people go there at the same time. We can really see that people don’t have masks, they wear them in an irregular way, they flock to it, ”said R. Požėla.

He stressed that he did not intend to close the parks or the beaches, but gave the impression that additional forces would be used to control public and crowded places.

“I talk more about the organization of our work, I had some contacts with our colleagues during the long weekend, I asked to pay attention to those public spaces. However, next Saturday Sunday, so that we can have more capacity to plan who would physically arrive and be in public spaces, it would avoid possible quarantine violations, “said the General Commissioner of Police.

The Interior Minister, Agnė Bilotaitė, hinted that she is solving the problem of meeting with the municipalities.

“People are actively gathering in certain public places, gathering in large numbers, so it was decided to ask municipalities to take, perhaps in cooperation with the police, to avoid possible gatherings in public places,” said A. Bilotaitė .

“Like herring in a barrel”

During the first quarantine introduced in Lithuania, the Klaipėda District Emergency Situations Commission, motivating the desire to protect people as much as possible, had temporarily prohibited access to the Dutch hat enriched with images of a beautiful open cliff and the nearby beach. Then it was a sunny spring and tourists flocked to this place.

This place was fenced off with STOP lanes, and those who tried to cross this place could be caught by the police and fined.

According to the public relations advisor to the mayor of the Klaipėda district, Bronius Marauskas, so far there have been no discussions during the second quarantine to close the entrances to the Dutch hat.

He admitted that during the first quarantine the situation was different, because then it was spring, warm weather, in addition, the municipalities of cities and districts were not separated, so the people of Klaipeda and the surrounding towns flocked to the Dutch hat.

“Now there are police firewalls, so everyone who wants to travel from one municipality to another can no longer do so. This limits the flow ”, he emphasized.

Many Lithuanians also remember the images of summer, when the citizens of our country simply completely relaxed and flocked to Palanga. At that time, a near-record number of tourists on the Lithuanian coast appeared in the media with photos of people lounging on the seashore holding towels side by side. Other internet users even joked and called it “crammed like a herring in a barrel.”

After these images, Lithuanian doctors warned of the possibility of new coronavirus outbreaks and urged not to relax.

Medical advice: “Wear masks and keep your distance”

According to Vytautas Kasiulevičius, a professor at the Vilnius University Medical Faculty, the evil is not that people walk in the open air,

“If, for example, you walk on a family farm and stay 8 meters away from other family farms, there is no risk of infection. But after all, it all depends on the concentration of the people: if they walk next to the another, they do not wear masks, they actively communicate almost closely, then the situation is quite different. If the wind comes from the sea side, the risk is also higher “, emphasized V. Kasiulevičius.

According to him, outdoor walks are good, but they should be in elementary order.

“The risk of developing coronavirus outdoors is 10 to 20 times lower than indoors, sitting at tables, communicating and the like. Coronavirus outbreaks did not start in summer, when people flocked to the seaside, but in autumn, when the students started going to school, people went back to work, ”he stressed.