COVID-19 the situation in the Baltic States is deteriorating. There were 1,400 coronavirus-infected patients in Latvian hospitals on Monday. In addition, the number of diseases is growing rapidly in both Lithuania and Estonia, writes the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat.
Sweden has already announced that it will help Latvia: it will send 120 lung respirators, 30 pumps and more than 300 monitors. The Prime Minister of Latvia, Krišjanis Karinis, said that assistance was offered by several countries during the European Council.
Finland is also ready to help. Requests for assistance are processed by the relevant European Union (EU) institutions, and in Finland the responsible body is the Helpdesk of the Ministry of the Interior.
However, so far no formal request has been received from the Baltic countries, the Finnish Ministry of the Interior said, ready to help with available resources at the first opportunity.
Infectious medicine doctor Heikki Kaukoranta said intensive care units are under heavy load in Finland, but Finland can still help, for example, send medical oxygen cylinders and equipment suitable for supplying supplemental oxygen.
Estonia is considering introducing new restrictions on the coronavirus to those that came into force the day before, but will seek to avoid universal quarantine similar to that introduced by neighboring Latvia in order to stop the rapid spread of the virus.
Health Minister Tanel Kiik told the Estonian media that the government would discuss the introduction of additional restrictions, especially those aimed at speeding up the pace of vaccination in this small 1.3 million. population. A decision on them should be made on Thursday.
“We have envisioned a variety of ways [koronavirusas] can spread and become infected. Of course, the most important measure to improve the situation is vaccination, “Kiikas told the Estonian public broadcaster ERR.
The government’s Council of Scientific Experts has indicated that it will not recommend universal quarantine and that schools should continue to work in a contact manner.
By Tuesday, 57 percent had been fully vaccinated in Estonia. population, health officials say. Nationwide, COVID-19 treats approximately 513 patients in hospitals, with 1,190 new infections and eight deaths in the last day.
As of Monday, a negative test result for a coronavirus test in Estonia does not allow access to the COVID-19 health certificate required for participation in sports events, public baths, spas, swimming pools, water entertainment centers, conferences, theaters, cinemas, concerts and exhibitions, public catering establishments.
Medical certificates are issued only to vaccinated individuals or those who have recently become ill with COVID-19. Mandatory wear of protective masks will also be introduced in all public places by 10 January.
At that time, in Latvia, almost 90 percent. of those who died of COVID-19 last month were unvaccinated, 88 percent patients admitted to hospitals for coronavirus have also not been vaccinated, according to official data released on Tuesday after Latvia introduced a month-long quarantine.
Latvia’s vaccination rate is one of the lowest in the European Union, with just over half of the country’s population fully vaccinated.
Due to the difficult situation of COVID-19 in Latvia, the strict quarantine, which entered into force on 21 October, will last until 15 November. During this period, all shops are closed, except for those selling essential goods, and only essential services are provided. Indoor and outdoor gatherings, entertainment, sports and cultural events are also prohibited.
The Latvian Ministry of Health plans to address the government on Friday and ask for a partial mobilization on COVID-19, Dita Heiberga, head of the Emergency Medical Service’s Disaster Medicine Center, said during a government meeting on Tuesday.
Mobilization means that military or civil defense measures will be purposefully planned and developed in order to prevent the state from being threatened or to eliminate its consequences, using certain human, material and financial resources, Heiberga said.
The Ministry of Health predicts that the government will have to announce the mobilization as early as November 2.
This is the first time that the Mobilization Law has been used in Latvia, D. Heiberga emphasized.
Health Minister Daniel Pavlut plans to present an order to the government on partial or local mobilization on Friday, alluding to the mobilization of human resources following the declaration of a state of emergency earlier this month. The SAM will have the authority to coordinate and issue summonses, to decide which categories of health care workers will be mobilized.
The order will also specify what public funding is needed for mobilization.
SAM will set up a staff coordination headquarters for officials from its institutions, clinical university hospitals, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Justice, Heiberga said.
Riga East University Clinical Hospital, Paul Stradinis Clinical University Hospital and seven regional hospitals will provide training for staff working in COVID-19 and other departments.
The summons will be given to individuals working in private health care facilities and health experts working in other fields, Heiberga said.
Prime Minister Krisyan Military said those who would be mobilized should be informed now so that they could prepare for change.
Mobilization could also affect the work of various health care institutions, which will later need state support, the head of government added.
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