The re-opening of all shops can be considered when new daily Covid-19 infections fall below 270 - Perevoscikovs

  • 2021-01-21
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - The re-opening of all shops can be considered when new daily Covid-19 infections fall below 270, spokesman for the Latvian Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), epidemiologist Jurijs Perevoscikovs, told Latvian Television this morning.

He admitted that with such a number of cases per day, Latvia would achieve a two-week cumulative infection rate of about 200 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. According to the epidemiologist, many other countries are using this indicator to assess whether the situation is under control.

Currently, about 850 new cases are registered in Latvia every day, but the two-week cumulative infection rate per 100,000 population exceeds 660 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Perevoscikovs acknowledged that even in countries where the incidence of Covid-19 is currently much lower than in Latvia, strict restrictions are still in place, as there are new risks, including in relation to the different strains of the virus, which are considered much more contagious.

Asked about the possibility of resuming full-time education in schools, the CDC representative admitted that children infected Covid-19 suffer less severe symptoms and are less likely to spread the virus, but it should not be forgotten that children are not always examined as carefully as adults. "Maybe that is why we know less," the epidemiologist admitted.

Continuing about face to face learning at schools, he emphasized that the main purpose of the restrictions is to protect teachers, who are at a higher risk of infection during full-time studies than even those working in medical institutions. Infection with Covid-19 can be particularly unpleasant for middle-aged teachers with chronic conditions.