The government will be offered to extend the quarantine until February 28: release scenarios will be updated every two weeks

After the meeting, Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė announced that the Government would be offered to change the quarantine to extend it for one more month.

“After hearing the information on the numbers, of course, we can say that the situation is improving a little today, we see positive numbers. However, the acceleration of the fall itself has slowed down a bit. After evaluating all the arguments and figures that were expressed, the decision was made to offer the Government the validity of the quarantine for one more month, until February 28, “said the minister.

“We see that the curve of the disease is decreasing, it is the result of a strict quarantine, but the results are not yet what we are looking for, so we propose to extend the quarantine. We hope that in the near future we will also be able to offer the first releases for businesses ”, said the Interior Minister, President of the Government Emergency Commission A. Bilotaitė.

During the meeting, the stages of release of restrictions were presented, which are based on indicators for monitoring the epidemiological situation. The lower the number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants per 14 days and the number of positive COVID-19 tests, the better the situation and the possibility of considering exemptions.

The decision was made to instruct the ministries to specify and detail possible releases in their areas, and they will be presented to the government next week, but all releases must be linked to the proportion of morbidity rates and positive tests.

According to the forecasts of the Ministry of Health, the figure of 500 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants could be reached at the beginning of February, after reaching that limit one could speak of releases. According to data from Sunday, the average number of cases in the country is 527 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

“I am glad that we have managed to improve results by concentrating. We are doing very well, but we cannot stop midway to release more restrictions; we must stick together and follow current recommendations,” said Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys.

It is tentatively planned that from mid-February, if there were a decrease in morbidity rates, two households could be allowed to communicate, as well as an increase in the number of scheduled hospitalization services, taking into account the number of beds. released as COVID-19. decreases. Another possible launch, starting in the second half of February, is a return to primary education in contact or blended-in, in line with the requirements of the Government’s Emergency Operations Manual.

“We would give priority to business liberalization, and restrictions on movement between municipalities will be discussed together with experts this week, we hope that decisions on this regulation will be taken in the near future,” said the Interior Minister, President of the Government. Emergency Commission A. Bilotaitė.

One of the first exemptions to consider for companies is to allow stores whose main activity is not the sale of food, but only on the condition that the store has a separate entrance from the outside. An area of ​​20 m2 per visitor must also be provided.

Such launches could take place in the second half or late February. Among the discussions is the proposal of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation to allow the operation of centers that provide cross-country skiing services, guaranteeing safety requirements. There are six such centers in Lithuania.

Until March 1st. The recommendation would continue to be, if possible, to opt for teleworking in both the public and private sectors, with the exception of those functions that must be performed in the workplace.

According to the Ministry of Health, the first dose of the vaccine was 58 thousand. Of the Lithuanian population, that is more than 2% of the total Lithuanian population, and 9,000 people were vaccinated with the second dose of the vaccine. Lithuania ranks sixth in the European Union in terms of vaccination, the country indicators are quite similar. According to the Department of Health, the highest incidence is in Ireland.

According to the Police Department, in January more than 18,000 vehicles were handed over and this month more than 5,200 protocols were drawn up for violations of quarantine conditions. Traffic on the country’s roads has been reduced by 72 percent.

We approach another stage

Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys stated that morbidity rates are declining, so we can move quickly to the next quarantine scenario.

“We are already very close to the door of stage C, perhaps other stages,” said the minister.

He said the government could also consider some specific measures to ease the quarantine next Wednesday.

“We agreed today that (plan, aut. P.) We need to detail and agree on the principles. This means that this week, together with other ministries, we will detail those 4 scenarios of what we can change in each one of them. And we agree that At the next WEU meeting, next Monday, we will have already debated and debated the final version. This means that next Wednesday we will establish those scenarios in the minutes of the Government meeting, and concrete measures can be discussed at the meeting “, said A. Dulkys.

He said the measures would be reviewed every two weeks.

When will the movement restriction be lifted?

The Interior Minister, A. Bilotaitė, stated that the restriction of circulation between municipalities would be eliminated, taking into account specific indicators.

“If the number of cases in 14 days will be less than 500 cases per 100 thousand population, and the number of positive COVID-19 tests will be less than 10 percent, perhaps one of the suggestions to think about a certain liberalization of the movement between municipalities.

But we are considering different options, stages. At first, we may think of releasing on simple days, leaving restrictions on weekends and holidays. There are such considerations, but it must be said that these figures must be reached and then it will be possible to talk, ”said the Interior Minister.

Police Commissioner General Renatas Požėla told a press conference that only a few dozen people went to another municipality this weekend due to social bubbles.

“We announced over the weekend that the data for the weekend did not show that hundreds and thousands had traveled from one municipality to another, they were dozens. We will see what the trend will be in the future ”, R. Požėla spoke about the indicators of social support bubbles.

Delphi recalls that the quarantine in Lithuania continues from 7 November to 16 December; strict measures have been introduced. Circulation restrictions between the country’s municipalities remain in effect until January 31.