Relaxing of Covid-19 restrictions would be a foolish choice at the moment - epidemiologist

RIGA - Relaxing Covid-19 restrictions would be a foolish choice at the moment, as the aim should be to reduce the spread of the virus by mid-December, when people will start gathering more in preparation for the holidays, Nikita Trojanskis, and epidemiologist and specialist of the Vaccination Project Division of the National Health Service, told Latvian Television last night.

The epidemiologist said that the number of new daily infections should be reduced to 500-600 people a day by Christmas. Achieving such a lower "start" level by this time will also reduce the spread of the virus during the holidays, the expert stressed.

Trojanskis mentioned two possible scenarios regarding Covid-19, one of which predicts that the number of people susceptible to the virus is largely "exhausted." In that case, a seasonal outbreak is expected during the winter months, but there will no longer be a large number of patients admitted to hospitals.

However, if there are still a relatively large number of people susceptible to Covid-19 - the maximum could be around half a million, then the infection rate could rise sharply from mid-December or the end of Christmas.

Trojanskis said that everyone wishes restrictions to be relaxed, but easing them now could become more costly later when even harsher ones may have to be introduced.

The expert warned that if there is an increase in the infection rate by mid-December, and Christmas is celebrated in the usual way, then two weeks later there will be up to 2,200 cases a day once again.