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The new infection records are alarming: Wednesday’s figures released Wednesday have reached new heights.
Of the 255 new cases registered, 111 are in Vilnius county, 58 in Šiauliai, 39 in Kaunas, 28 in Klaipėda, 7 in Panevėžys, 5 in Marijampolė, 4 in Telšiai and 3 in Alytus counties.
A.Veryga offers to test the bar employees
Health Minister Aurelius Veryga says the incidence is likely to continue to rise. “Because we communicate, we meet, we have fun and so on. People communicate, they communicate, the disease spreads. It was probably to be expected. I can only repeat it again: the air is cold, people move from open spaces to closed spaces and if they do not follow safety measures: distances, masks are not used, the disease spreads. Unfortunately, this is the case, “A.Veryga told reporters at the Seimas on Thursday.
Sigismund Gedvila / 15min photo / Aurelijus Veryga
It also suggests that the capital city test COVID-19 for employees of bars, cafes and restaurants if they refuse to reduce their working hours.
“I understand that the city is questioning how reasonable the recommendation is. If there is any doubt for the city, I believe that the National Center for Public Health should advise the municipality so that the staff of bars and entertainment venues can be evaluated and see what the situation is there, ”said the Minister.
According to him, if the tests showed that there are infected and a large number of them, perhaps that would be enough evidence to speak of additional restrictions in this area.
VIDEO: The number of COVID-19 cases skyrocketed in Vilnius, municipality: there will be no quarantine
On Wednesday, the National Public Health Center (NVSC) called on the Vilnius city municipality to temporarily restrict active leisure activities indoors and shorten the working hours of bars. According to the NVSC, the restriction of activities such as group sports training, dance and singing studies is necessary to address the unfavorable epidemiological situation due to the spread of the coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
Will there be no quarantine?
However, Povilas Poderskis, director of the Vilnius municipality administration, has not yet promised quarantine in the capital. However, he acknowledges that the situation is certainly not good, although manageable.
P. Poderskis noted that the number of infections is growing not only in Vilnius, but also throughout Lithuania and around the world. It is said that this is already a blow for everyone, so I would not want to take a second to make unreasonable decisions. And he did not want to comment on the speeches of S. Skvernelis and A. Veryga, which sound like certain threats to Vilnius, calling them political.
What matters is not so much the number of cases as the management of the situation.
“What matters is not so much the number of cases as the management of the situation, if we know all the cases, they are accounted for and people are isolated, it is important to know how they get sick, if they are asymptomatic or serious. I don’t think there is a number that means we have to close something. It also depends on the scope of testing, if we have 100 cases testing 600 per day now, that means only a certain proportion of how many tests we manage to do.
If other cities carry out less tests and detect fewer cases, it does not mean that the incidence is lower there. These are certain statistical games that don’t really help us to evaluate the situation very objectively, “said P. Poderskis.
Sigismund Gedvila / 15min photo / Hand disinfection
More tests
He said he was confident that the healthcare system was ready for that. And Vilnius intends to increase the tests first.
“We plan to test more people, about a thousand per day. Again, we will proactively invite certain groups of people to take the test, those who are in greater and more frequent contact with the population. It could also be sports coaches, what which has been causing some major problems lately. Also, maybe someone works in customer service and makes more contacts, “P. Poderskis said in a brief press conference.
Both human health and restrictions on freedom, the closure of activities, cannot become a political decision. We need to rely on common sense, recommendations, and best practices.
However, he said, the main thing to remember is the need to live with a new way of life: communication must be very clear and comprehensive. We will definitely do it. “
Podersky called for calm, although he said he noticed many speeches of a political nature. “We must act calmly, as if the political situation that is now, the period between the first and second rounds, does not exist. Due to both human health and restrictions on freedom, the closure of activities cannot become a kind of political decision, we need to rely on common sense, recommendations and best practices.
One of those aspects is that if we could reach an agreement with one or another institution to follow the recommendations, to maintain distances of 2 m, the participants would wear masks in their classes. If we can get people to behave more responsibly there, which is really possible by talking to bars, restaurants, discos, implementing security measures, more actively encouraging their visitors to wear masks, etc., I think it is possible. control the situation, ”said P. Podersky.
He stressed the importance of dialogue and mutual understanding, and that if this is not respected, the entire sector may need to be shut down.
A kindergarten is closed
Infections are also increasing in educational institutions. According to P. Poderskis, a kindergarten has been closed, other institutions work partially remotely, for example, Prince Gediminas Progymnasium, where some children go to school for one week and others for another.
Photo by Julius Kalinskas / 15min / COVID-19 checkpoint in Vilnius
According to the director, the closure of a kindergarten with cases of disease is an example of how to deal with all sectors: it is not necessary to close the entire sector if an institution has problems.
“It just came to our knowledge then. We look for precise solutions that bring a certain order. Our schools already know algorithms on how to behave. There were some misunderstandings at first, but now the algorithms are clear, they know where to call, how to report and we can handle those. cases, ”said P. Poderskis.
He noted that a common language could also be found with the National Center for Public Health.
He highlighted the benefits of teleworking
P. Poderskis is convinced that a recommendation like working remotely really works, so it should not be forgotten either.
If the virus has spread in the dance studio and the infections are in a public institution, then the infected person in the dance studio went to work in the office and shared the virus there.
“If there is an infection in the dance studio and the virus has spread, and as a result there is an infection in a state institution, the infected person in the dance studio went to work in the office and shared the virus there. Should I dance studio shut down as a result, or should they continue to operate remotely?
Many of these aspects are where we interact and collaborate with the NVSC to find out exactly what those tools should apply to. And I think we will present that plan of measures next week. And this week we will work with the provision of information, communication, evidence, ”said the director of the Vilnius municipality administration.
On Thursday, 4 new coronavirus cases in Vilnius County were reported to be associated with an outbreak at the Alien Registration Center in Pabradė, 3 cases were associated with an outbreak at the SOS Children’s Village in Vilnius, and 4 cases were related. with an outbreak in the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
A new case of coronavirus infection is associated with the “Sanatorija” bar in Vilnius Old Town, as well as another case – with the “Bardakas” bar.
“In addition, the evaluation of the routes of the infected people during the last day shows that the people visited various entertainment venues: bars, cafes, clubs,” the NVSC report reads.
New cases of coronavirus continue to be registered in educational and medical institutions. In Vilnius county, 9 cases are related to the Vilnius “Žemyna” kindergarten, 6 – to the Vilnius Jonas Basanavičius Gymnasium, 2 – to the Vilnius Martynas Mažvydas Progymnasium.
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