Šimonytė: We will consider possible quarantine releases every week

“It does not mean that the resolution, as it is now, will be in full force for a whole month. This means that the Government still has no reason to modify the quarantine regime according to the classification of situations publicly discussed by the experts. We are still in the worst category, despite the fact that the situation has improved significantly since the end of last year, “said I. Šimonyt dijo at a press conference held after the meeting.

However, he stressed that the situation, although it improved, was not good enough to lift the quarantine regime completely.

According to her, the Government and the Government Emergency Commission will consider weekly what changes can be made in light of the epidemiological situation at that time.

“We have not yet moved from scenario D to scenario C, which could allow us to talk about some bigger cuts or more cuts,” the prime minister said.

According to I. Šimonytė, the situation is not improving as fast as before.

“Quarantine produces the best effect from the beginning.” We will continue to need both additional measures and additional solutions for preventive and focal tests, so that we can reduce the number of cases beyond the level that we have reached, “said I. Šimonytė.

Speaking of restrictions on movement between municipalities, the Prime Minister also highlighted that the situation is dynamic, the situation is not as good as expected, so it is not yet possible to promote greater mobility.

Obviously promoting mobility would not be a good idea in this context, but that does not mean that these mobility restrictions last until the end of February. The situation is so dynamic that we will review all restrictions, including this one. However, the quarantine decision itself will definitely be valid until the end of February, ”explained I. Šimonytė.

According to her, the government will discuss the measures of the quarantine regime as early as Friday, but it is not worth waiting for some decisions to be made on the release of restrictions on movement between municipalities, the prime minister emphasized.

“There may be discussions about other solutions and activities, but I don’t really promise anything. We will have more data on Friday, an analysis by government analysts presented to ministers.”

Prime Minister: NVSC still unable to trace cases

The Prime Minister also noted that the traceability of cases stopped when the threshold of 200 cases per day was exceeded.

The National Public Health Center (NVSC) is responsible for this.

“It is very unfortunate, but for various reasons, the NVSC still cannot do its job for us to track those cases. Finally, there are still a large number of those cases, we are talking about around 1000 cases a day. It is obvious that these are much more than the 200 in which this institution has lost the capacity to perform this function, ”said I. Šimonytė.

Greater quantities of vaccines are needed to achieve the goal of vaccination.

He wondered if it was realistic to achieve the goal set by President Gitanas Nausėda: vaccinate 70% by mid-summer. the Prime Minister responded that this depended on the delivery schedules of vaccines to the country.

“If we have a vaccine for two-thirds of the Lithuanian population, it is real, of course. But if we will have a vaccine for two-thirds of the Lithuanian population, of course, after receiving it not from June 30, but constantly throughout the entire period, I cannot confirm it with the available knowledge, ”said I Šimonytė.

The Prime Minister also said that if the required amount of vaccines were available now, municipalities would cope with the volumes and rates of people vaccinated.

“If there were enough vaccines available now, it would certainly not be a big problem to vaccinate that many people per day according to the plan that SAM is developing and is being discussed with the municipalities. We need a vaccine that we do not yet have ”, added the head of government.

Dust: the situation in hospitals has been managed

The Health Ministry argued that the introduction of strict quarantine had reduced the incidence of COVID-19 with the introduction of strict quarantine, but it still remained high.

“There is a proposal to extend the duration of the quarantine regime, it is proposed to extend it for another month, until February 28, 24 hours. As you know, if we compare the numbers with December, (…) there are really huge changes, but those huge changes have come from huge numbers, ”said Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys when presenting the issue.

“The number of cases in Lithuania is decreasing, but the rate of decline is slowing compared to the previous weeks,” he noted.

However, according to the minister, this does not mean that the measures did not work: they managed to control the situation in the hospitals.

“A strategy for the modernization of hospital services has already been started,” he said.

Mortality also remains high, although there is a marked decrease in both its mortality and overall mortality.

According to the ministry, about 7 percent currently have immunity to COVID-19. Lithuanian population: vaccinated with at least one dose of vaccine (around 2%) or relapsed during the last six months (around 5%).

On Monday, following the government’s emergency commission, it was announced that the first releases could be expected from mid-February if COVID-19 infections are reduced.

In Lithuania, the quarantine was announced on November 7 last year, its regime has been tightened since December 16 and is currently valid until January 31.

At present, many shops, sports and leisure venues in the country have been closed, the movement of people between municipalities and meetings both at home and in public places has been restricted.