Expert recommends continued use of facemasks in high-risk places

  • 2022-03-21
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - As Covid-19 infections keep dropping in Latvia, people should still continue to wear facemasks in high-risk places, Jurijs Perevoscikovs, director of the Infectious Diseases Risk Analysis and Prevention Department at the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), told LETA. 

Last week, the number of new Covid-19 cases fell 30 percent and the number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals reduced as well. Data of an epidemiological monitoring suggest that the risk of Covid-19 transmissions in public places tended to decrease, Perevoscikovs said. 

The expert believes, however, that the using of facemasks should continue in such high-risk places like healthcare institutions and nursing homes in order to protect people with weakened immune systems and chronic health conditions. Perevoscikovs would support a continued use of facemasks also on public transport.

Commenting on developments in other European Union member states, Perevoscikovs indicated that Covid-19 infections are on the rise again in countries like Austria, Germany, Finland and Italy but that the number of Covid-19 deaths is not growing there. The expert said that the incidence rates were rising as Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted and people start traveling again.