These coronavirus outbreaks may have contributed significantly to the spread of the British strain in the Vilnius region.

While the general epidemiological situation in the country remains difficult, the trends of outbreaks in kindergartens observed in recent weeks, according to epidemiologists, are different.

“Recently, kindergartens are the places where the eyes of epidemiologists are most focused. In them, unlike the other two important areas, social institutions and medical institutions, we do not see positive dynamics. The Vilnius region stands out in In particular, where almost half of the outbreaks in kindergartens were recorded at the end of last week: forty-three out of eighty-seven, ”says Giedrė Aleksienė, Head of the NVSC Communicable Disease Management Division, Acting Director .

According to her, as the contact in educational institutions is very close, it cannot be ruled out that the faster transmission of the British coronavirus strain contributes significantly to such an unfavorable dynamic in the Vilnius region.

According to experts, outbreaks in educational institutions are also a cause for concern, as they often isolate large numbers of people at risk of infection. For example, 87 outbreaks have been linked to more than 580 COVID-19 cases, more than 1.5 thousand people in contact have been isolated, and almost 500 people at low risk have been identified.

In addition, according to epidemiologist Dr. Daiva Razmuvienė, the number of COVID-19 cases registered in families is also not decreasing, which has a significant impact on outbreaks in educational institutions.

“Approximately thirty percent of those infected with a coronavirus infection in the last week said that they became ill after contact with a family member. It is clear that these figures have ties to each other, so, as has been stressed On several occasions, we must be especially attentive to the health of ourselves and our loved ones. Especially since during epidemiological diagnoses we discovered that even children with symptoms are taken to kindergarten, and there are also cases where parents carry children to kindergarten who feel the symptoms themselves, ”says D. Razmuvienė.

When assessing outbreaks by sector, the number of outbreaks has also increased over the past two weeks in manufacturing and trade, with 45 and 33 active outbreaks of COVID-19 at the end of last week, respectively. A week ago there were 22 active outbreaks in both sectors. Also last week there was a slight increase in active outbreaks in companies in the food, clothing, logistics and transportation industries.

At the same time, the number of active sprouts in the furniture manufacturing industry continued to decline last week, with more than 20 active sprouts in the industry in mid-March.

As of the end of last week, a total of 310 active COVID-19 outbreaks were recorded in Lithuania, compared to 279 in the previous week.

The NVSC notes that an outbreak is the sudden spread of a communicable disease that affects a limited number of people and / or a limited area, that is, two or more interrelated cases of the disease in time and space.