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The government unexpectedly changed its mind on Wednesday when it decided to make decisions to ease the quarantine in some stores that are not supermarkets and beauty centers. Before the government meeting, during which decisions would be made, the Council of Experts, advising the Cabinet of Ministers, criticized the desire to now facilitate the quarantine.
“So what, now the experts run the government? They can never be experts … That’s why I say it’s bad for the public [ekspertų] not seeing or fully seeing experts who can ask questions at all. A union representative, for example, comments. And what competence does it have in managing pandemics? Or the director of a private institution that has no influence, ”said A. Veryga.
According to the former minister, the board of experts is an advisory body that cannot have a decisive voice.
“They can advise, the government can take it, it can take it, but the decisions are made by the government. And it is responsible to the population politically and in any other way. And what are the experts responsible for? What are they responsible for?” Veryga asked rhetorically.
Offers next steps in quarantine mitigation
Mr Veryga welcomes the willingness of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation to allow at least small traders to operate. According to him, even with the operation of large grocery stores, the number of diseases in the country is decreasing, which means that the activities of small ones will not generate additional risks.
“For small stores, what is the logic? Are there large stores, the situation is getting worse? It does not get worse as it improves. It means that the risk is not high, even when a relatively large number of people are gathered” the member of the Seimas.
A. Veryga also proposes to reconsider restricting population movement between municipalities in the near future by easing the quarantine.
“The question is whether that trip itself poses any threat. Is there really any assessment that this reduces some risks? ”Commented A. Veryga.
Finally, the politician draws attention to the schools that are currently still operating remotely. According to A. Veryga, without making decisions about the graduates’ return to classes, it will be difficult for them to prepare for the maturity exams.
“It just came to our knowledge then [mokyklas] closed, then it must be said that we do discounts for children. Either it’s canceling this year’s exams and not forcing them to take them, or organizing those summer trainings for the kids to prepare. Then there will be destinations here. How many children graduate from school each year, so who will be with them? Will a generation be lost? “Said A. Veryga.
The matter was postponed
As early as Monday, considering the possibility of adopting the first quarantine releases on Wednesday, the government abandoned the plan. The cabinet did not begin considering quarantine issues on Wednesday.
On Monday, after the meeting of the State Emergency Commission, Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys stated that the next meeting of the Government, on Wednesday, should decide on the release of quarantine for some companies.
However, governments did not put the issue on Wednesday’s agenda.
“Today, we do not have a scheme of quarantine stages on the meeting’s agenda, because, on the one hand, there are some nuances of this type that may have become clear in recent days. These are the nuances that relate to cross-border movement and the decisions our neighbors make. We need to modify those solutions accordingly.
Discussions have also been held with experts on some activities. The problem is not the discussion itself, but the discussions took place on Monday and Tuesday, ”Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said at the government meeting.
I wanted to free up the work of shops and beauty centers.
This week, the ministries suggested to the government that stores other than supermarkets and beauty centers could open their doors in the coming days, subject to the necessary security requirements. It is true that only those institutions that have an open entrance from abroad could operate, so they require a restriction on customer traffic.
“We would like to propose to the Government that not only grocery stores but also other non-essential stores can operate now, if they have a separate entrance from the outside and can restrict the flow of customers,” said A. Dulkys.
However, the Council of Experts, advising the government, did not recommend the Cabinet of Ministers to rush with this quarantine relief, fearing that the epidemiological situation in the country is not stable enough.
As Inga Ruginienė, president of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation, one of the members of the Council of Experts, told the portal tv3.lt, the experts suggested that the Government postpone these releases.
“Our recommendation continues to be that after reaching the indicator in 150 cases, 100 thousand. residents, small shops could be opened that would not serve more than one customer, ”suggested I. Ruginienė.
At that time, experts recommend beauty salons and hairdressers to start operating only Covid-19 morbidity rates in Lithuania after reaching 100 cases per 100,000. population.
Currently, the incidence rate of Covid-19 in Lithuania reaches 414.9 cases per 100 thousand. population in 14 days.
The quarantine in Lithuania lasts from November 7 to December 16. strict measures have been introduced. The quarantine lasted until the beginning of March.
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