Concerns about hospital congestion increase in Lithuania / Article

In Lithuania, infection with coronavirus was confirmed in 1970 people during the day; this is the highest figure since the beginning of January. The disease has claimed the lives of another 18 people. There are concerns about hospital congestion due to the rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus delta variant.

The prevalence of coronavirus in Lithuania is the fastest not only in the Baltics, but also in the entire European Union. More and more municipalities have entered the so-called “black zone”, where the cumulative infection rate has exceeded 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in two weeks.

A face mask should be used indoors

This threshold has also been exceeded in Lithuania as a whole, and has now risen to 700. As early as mid-September, the requirement that supermarkets may only be visited with a Covid-19 certificate.

But from October 1 in Lithuania indoors again it is mandatory to use a face mask. This requirement has so far been of a recommendatory nature. The face mask must be worn in the premises where trade takes place, services are provided or events are held, in offices.

“I think the new rules could demand even more. We should not be the first in the European Union [saslimstības rādītājos], ”Says a Vilnius resident.

“Maybe the masks are a bit too much and uncomfortable, but I support it. It was a decision of specialists, and I think it is right, ”says another Vilnius resident.

Renewal of the sitting is not ruled out

The government has also recommended, but at least not yet instructed, both public and private institutions to organize work as remotely as possible. Stricter steps are not ruled out either.

“We have to pay special attention to what is happening in hospitals. If we find ourselves in a situation where the health care system is no longer able to function, then, of course, the decisions will be such that we will all have to accept it for a few weeks, ”admits the Head of the Lithuanian Government Ingrīda Šimonīte.

More than 1,200 Covid-19 patients are currently being treated in hospitals in Lithuania. About a fifth are in resuscitation or need artificial ventilation of the lungs. Most seriously ill people are unvaccinated and elderly people.

“We are ready to open a new department Covid patients and we have plans for structural change. At the moment, it is not necessary, but we are following the situation, ”says Felix Jankevic, Director General of the Santara Clinic of Vilnius University.

It is proposed to pay pensioners 100 euros for vaccination

To promote vaccination against Covid-19, Lithuanian opposition politicians are proposing to pay 100 euros to seniors who will be vaccinated. The government is cautious about this proposal.

“It simply came to our notice then. In that case, one should start asking whether those who do not go to the polls otherwise should be paid, or whether people should be paid for something else, ”says Lithuanian Minister of Health Arūnas Duļķis.

In Lithuania, 62.5% of the population have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

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