Latvia has declared a total lockdown of the country, which will last for a month, to curtail the widespread of the coronavirus and low vaccination rate in the country.
The lockdown which was announced by Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, will start on Thursday, and end on November 15. The measure will not distinguish between vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
“I apologize to those who have already been vaccinated, but the restrictions will apply to everyone,” Karins insisted to the press after a meeting of his government that lasted ten hours.
“There are still too many unvaccinated people who catch the Covid and die in the hospital,” he said.
According to AFP report, the lockdown will begin on Thursday and extend until November 15, with a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., cafes, cinemas, theatres and concert halls closed, and restaurants will only be able to offer take-out food.
Only stores selling food and essentials will be able to remain open and the majority of the workforce will have to work remotely, with the exception of construction, transportation and other jobs that cannot be done by telecommuting.
The schools will also switch to distance learning, except for the youngest, up to the third level of primary school, who will be able to continue to visit the establishments.
These measures are likely to be amended at another government meeting on Tuesday or at Wednesday’s parliamentary session before a vote.
A vaccination rate below 50%
Less than half of the 1.9 million Latvians have received the two doses of the Covid vaccine, allowing the epidemic to develop for a month.
The contamination record has been broken every day last week, with 1,253 new cases and seven deaths recorded on Monday.
This brings a total toll of 186,000 infections and 2,897 deaths since the start of the pandemic.