Hard restrictions in Latvia due to a pandemic are revealed once again, now until February 7. The authorities are convinced that it is necessary to cope with the spread of the disease.
"I urge Latvian society to understand all the seriousness of the situation," said the Minister of Health Daniel Pavluts. - In hospitals a large number of seriously ill patients COVID-19 and there is a growth trend, hospital overload in the short term will not be solved. Therefore, it depends on ourselves whether we will be able to stop not only the increase in morbidity, but also move towards reducing the incidence. "
Prime Minister Krisyanis Karins added that there are no reason for revising restrictions yet.
"This week in the incidence statistics, we first saw stability - there is no longer a growth trend, but the situation in hospitals remains critical," he said. "We are forced to leave everything, as it is, with the exception of schoolchildren of junior classes, which will resume studies [January 25], but remotely."
Return to normal
The Latvian government proposes to introduce a unified system to cancel restrictions and return to normal life. Build it wants to know the famous principle of traffic lights.Thus, the "red light" lights up when a two-week incidence in Latvia exceeds the middle EU. In this situation, no restrictions will be canceled. At the moment, Latvia is located in this phase.
"Orange Light" is intended for high-risk situations as the incidence rate does not exceed 200 200 new cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. From this point on, the restriction will begin to gradually soften, continuing on the next "yellow" stage. The final return to normal life will come in the Green Phase, when the level of infection in two weeks will not exceed 20 new cases per 100 thousand population.
"Now there is no reason to talk about the revision of restrictions, since we are in an absolutely critical situation," the head of the Ministry of Health added.
Help psychologists
At the same time, the government was concerned about the mental state of residents after quarantine. This year, the Ministry of Health will send 7.11 million euros for the implementation of measures to reduce the long-term negative impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the population. It is assumed that in summer every resident of the country will be able to get free of charge from 5 to 10 consultations of a psychologist or psychotherapist in the direction of the family doctor.
According to the Minister of Health Daniel Pavluts, the negative effects of a pandemic for mental health will be felt over the years.