Skvernelis responded to Šimonytė’s calls: if we still want to introduce something, it is the introduction of a state of emergency

“I appreciate the appointment of the prime minister-designate, but unfortunately again, no concrete proposals have yet been made to strengthen control and management of the situation,” Skvernel said at the beginning of the last meeting of the outgoing government on Wednesday.

He recalled that the austerity measures adopted by the Government on Monday had already entered into force on Wednesday, which he said were sufficient, and that the Provisional Government could still call an extraordinary meeting if necessary.

“If you see the need to do distance preschool education, you can still take those steps, but it really probably isn’t necessary yet, because the measures that go into effect today should work too,” he said. Skvernelis.

He said that residents were already advised not to go anywhere, and a total ban on interurban movement would not solve the problem, as it was not the interurban movement itself that threatened, but participation in mass meetings, visits to friends and family.

“If we still want something, the last measure that could be introduced if deemed inevitable is basically the introduction of a state of emergency, but this is already the responsibility of the Seimas and the Seimas can make that decision,” said the Prime Minister.

“We are ready, if there is a more rational and reasoned proposal to change and toughen the quarantine conditions, to meet and hold an extraordinary meeting before the new government takes the oath,” he said.

S. Skvernel asked to solve the problem not with statements, but with concrete decisions, which the Government, according to him, did not avoid. He stressed that although the quarantine did not yield the expected results, a similar situation is observed in other states.

He wants the Government of I. Šimonytė to make sure that the COVID-19 vaccine he has purchased reaches Lithuania as soon as possible and that the necessary infrastructure will be prepared and used.

Prime Minister-designate I. Šimonytė asked S. Skvernelis to make decisions to tighten quarantine conditions as soon as possible.

“Every day that is late costs people’s lives and health. Decisions not made today will mean the loss of people’s lives for the entire month to come,” I. Šimonytė says in the report.

“If the entire Lithuanian health system is ‘burned out’ and does not provide the necessary, timely and qualified care without maintaining the number of hospitalized patients, the consequences will be extremely painful: the indicators of excessive mortality are already alarming”, says I. Šimonytė .

The approval of the new government’s program in the Seimas is scheduled for Friday, as well as the swearing-in of the new Cabinet of Ministers, after which it will acquire powers.

A meeting of the Council of Experts in the Presidency on Sunday proposed tightening the quarantine conditions. The Cabinet of Ministers adopted such amendments on Monday, but President Gitanas Nausėda said they were insufficient.

A government decision has banned more than two families or households from reuniting since Wednesday, seniors have switched to full distance education, supermarkets must tighten restrictions on customer flows, etc.

During the last day, 3128 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Lithuania, the highest number since the start of the pandemic. 31 people died from COVID-19.