Prime Minister: Emergency situation could not be extended, but pandemic and Covid-19 restrictions do not end
>Due to the distribution of covid-19, the state of emergency announced by April 6 could not be extended, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (“New Unity”) said in an interview on the “Morning Panorama” programme of LTV.
>At the same time, Karins stressed that the Covid-19 pandemic does not end and that the restrictions are not lifted.
>“I think we will go back to a situation where restrictions and various types of security measures are being observed, but legally it is no longer an emergency,” the Prime Minister said.
>He acknowledged that, at the moment, the emergency is a legal, not a practical concept. In addition, there are laws that allow for further restrictions and, if necessary, to react.
>“If our mistake in the fall was gradual limits, when it couldn't be agreed once and neatly, then in the spring, the mistake would be too fast to exit [the restrictions].
>“What we will decide – going out of limits, in what steps and how we will do it,” the head of government said.
>At the same time, Karins conceded that the operational leadership group could offer tougher restrictions on Easter. He pointed to the tightening of restrictions in Germany, saying that we already live in Latvia on a daily basis with just as strict security measures.
>“I could remind you again that we do not suffer with our relatives and family at this Easter. We have all the restrictions in place.
>Two households cannot meet indoors. “It's just how people get sick,” the Prime Minister said.
>In his view, public adaptation to the conditions and constraints of the pandemic is one of the reasons why Covid-19's morbidity is declining.
>On the other hand, if it is necessary to reinforce the control of people who are in self-isolation, this will be done, the Prime Minister confirmed.
>Asked about preparations for mass vaccination in April, Karins expressed confidence in the ability of the Minister for Health, Daniel Pavluts (“Development/About”) to implement this process. “God gives us that this would be our only difficulty in supplying vaccines in the country, not that we have no system for how mass vaccinations could be carried out,” he added.
>CONTEXT:
>During the outbreak of covid-19 in spring 2020, an emergency was announced in Latvia to limit new coronavyrus. The situation remained stable over the summer, but at the end of September the morbidity increased rapidly. The government re-identified the emergency in November, but since Covid-19 does not diminish, the emergency has been extended until April 6, including the Easter holidays.
>According to the government-backed traffic lights principle, relaxing the limits could be seen if morbidity rates fell to an average of 200 cases per 100,000 people over 14 days.