Latvia records highest Covid-19 incidence in the world - CDC

  • 2021-10-18
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - The number of new Covid-19 cases confirmed in Latvia last week, from October 11 to 17, increased by 48.8 percent from the week before, the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) informed. 

According to the CDC, Latvia's Covid-19 incidence is currently the highest in the world. Meanwhile, hospital admissions grew 56 percent last week, while the number of severe Covid-19 cases jumped 62.8 percent. 

Of the Covid-19 tests carried out last week, 40,781 tests, or 32 percent, were performed as part of mass screenings in schools, and 85,768 tests, or 68 percent, were carried out in the rest of the population. Testing in schools revealed 2,121 cases, or 15 percent, while 12,219 cases, or 85 percent, were detected among the general population. More than half of the infected people diagnosed during the mass screening, or 65 percent, had Covid-19 symptoms.

The average daily number of Covid-19 tests rose to 18,078 last week from 16,176 tests the week before, while the average daily number of confirmed infections grew to 2,049 from 673.

Latvia's Covid-19 reproduction number rose to 1.28 from 1.33 the week before, suggesting of an accelerating spread of the virus.

Unvaccinated or partly vaccinated people accounted for 11,321, or 79 percent, of last week's Covid-19 cases, while 3,020 people, or 21 percent of all cases, had been vaccinated. Compared to vaccinated people, unvaccinated persons are 3 times more likely to catch the infection, statistics show.

Meanwhile, Europe's average cumulative 14-day Covid-19 incidence per 100,000 population slightly increased, from 160.6 cases the week before to 166.1 cases last week. In Latvia, the incidence rate has grown from 580.9 cases to 864.4 per 100,000 population.