Šimonytė: Movement restrictions will change after April 6

“It is important to live safely, accept, celebrate Easter and then depending on the numbers we see, there may be some suggestions from the Government next week. We will definitely not change the quarantine regime this week, “I. Šimonytė told reporters at the Seimas on Tuesday.

Some experts have suggested that some activities be open to people only during the day. According to the prime minister, this could be one of the additional quarantine scenarios.

“If it was a way of agreeing that we have more options during the day, what and where to do it, but at night it reduces the contacts through which the infection spreads, then I think it could be a pretty fair deal.” So far we will not make such proposals, but there was such a debate, “confirmed I. Šimonytė.

He also spoke about practices in other countries, such as pilot events, risk assessment, and participant testing.

“That experience needs to be evaluated, some decisions on cultural events should be monitored, I think the Government will also take it, but certainly not this week,” emphasized the Prime Minister.

Movement restrictions will change after Easter

According to the head of government, the strict restrictions on movement between municipalities that now apply throughout the country will be modified after Easter.

“April 6, the restrictions on circulation will expire as they are now, as they are now for all municipalities, some of them were before, at that time, at the beginning of next week, we will know what the situation is and if some municipalities they should keep it, maybe modify it, “said the prime minister.

As an example, I. Šimonytė presented a variant that the movement could be launched for those people who are vaccinated or have a negative response to the coronavirus test.

“Let’s say you allow people who have a vaccine or a negative test result to move, if it is technically possible to do so in time for the police to verify it. There are many ideas, we are all trying to verify some of them and implement them.” , He said.

When asked if the restrictions that apply to the movement will now change, I. Šimonytė confirmed this.

“We will not enforce them until we have done so until now. Basically, this restriction is more geared towards holidays.” We ask everyone to stay home for the holidays, “the prime minister noted.

The situation is deteriorating especially in Vilnius

He did not hide that the increase in the number of cases in Vilnius was worrying, but did not begin to assess whether the current situation could be called the third wave of the pandemic.

“The number of cases has been increasing for some time. I don’t know what to call it, I call it deterioration of the epidemiological situation. It is deteriorating particularly around the capital and in these municipalities. There are municipalities where the dynamics are opposite. That is the difference with December, when deterioration was everywhere ”, said the Head of Government.

When asked why the rules for the formation of social bubbles were changed, I. Šimonytė replied that it is related to the tightening of movement restrictions. Currently, individuals can only form social bubbles while living in the same municipality.

“Only the rules on transfer to another municipality have been changed, that is, in the context of a general restriction of not moving to another municipality without a necessary need, because within the municipality that regulation has not been changed,” explained I. Šimonytė.

If the lack of use of vaccines becomes a major problem, the legislation may need to be changed

When talking about the problems of using vaccines when the waste is dumped, I. Šimonytė did not hide that if the problem worsens, it will be necessary to make appropriate decisions in legal acts.

“If this really becomes a large-scale problem, then of course the legislation will need to be changed, but please understand that there are very specific requirements for these vaccines. (…) As far as I know, that I know, many institutions are looking for those people who can come to get vaccinated if they see leftovers left. Someone gets vaccinated after working hours, they are really trying to use those vaccines, “said the Prime Minister.

At the same time, he reiterated that the priority is to vaccinate populations at risk.

“If we see that the problem is getting bigger, it is the experience of other countries – in Israel itself – to vaccinate live at the end of the day. Now, I want to emphasize once again, the top priority is to vaccinate people who are at risk, ”said I. Šimonytė.

“I understand that people sometimes feel tense and say, give us a faster and faster vaccine, common immunity is important, more vaccinated people are better than fewer, but the top priority now is to reduce mortality. This could be the vaccination of those groups of people who have the highest risk of dying from coronavirus, ”continued I. Šimonytė.

According to her, on Monday she received around 45,000. More than 20,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines were received Tuesday. Doses of the “Moderna” vaccine and more than 60 thousand are expected by the end of the week. AstraZeneca vaccine dose.

“It is uncomfortable that before Easter, the holidays. This complicates the process a bit, but basically in April Lithuania will receive as many vaccines as it received in the first three months after the start of the vaccine supply, ”said I. Šimonytė.

The prime minister also said Easter Sunday vaccines are unlikely to be active, but noted that some vaccination centers will be open on Saturday.

“I think to some extent it will be possible to do it on holidays, for example Saturday, but I would really doubt the realism of Sunday. Our plan is that weekends are designated for vaccination already that week after Easter,” I added. Šimonytė.