Covid case total rises by 220 in Latvia
On Monday, April 26, Latvia recorded 220 new cases of Covid-19, according to the Disease Prevention and Control Center (SPKC).
The total number of cases detected since the start of the pandemic now stands at 115,536.
Of 3,461 tests carried out in the past 24 hours, 6.4% were positive, broadly similar to the 6.6% rate the day before. 4% is regarded as the threshold at which the virus is spreading in an uncontrolled manner.
Monday’s new case figures are usually the lowest of the week due to a smaller number of tests being carried out on Sundays.
The 14-day cumulative infection rate per 100,000 inhabitants stayed almost unchanged, rising very slightly from 404.1 Sunday to 404.6 Monday. Anything over 200 is classed as a “very high risk” pandemic situation under the government’s four-stage “traffic light” system.
📈 Pēdējo 24h laikā:
▫️veikts 3461 Covid-19 izmeklējums;
▫️reģistrēti 220 jauni inficēšanās gadījumi;
▫️saņemti ziņojumi par 4 mirušajiem (viens cilvēks 40-49 gadu vecumā, divi 80-89 gadu vecumā, viens 90-99 gadu vecumā). — SPKC.gov.lv (@SPKCentrs) April 26, 2021
Four more deaths were confirmed April 26, taking the total death toll since the start of the pandemic to 2106.
Meanwhile in Estonia 163 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed April 26 and in Lithuania the figure was 514 cases.
Covid-19 information
You can find all the latest Covid-19 statistics at this official website.
A summary in English of the latest Covid-19 situation including restrictions in place and rules on public assembly is available at this special government website.
Use of nose and mouth coverings is compulsory in all public places indoors, including workplaces. Physical distancing and frequent hand washing and sanitary cleaning habits are encouraged.
The dedicated hotline for Covid-19 related inquiries (24 hours, 7 days a week) is 8345. The number for medical emergencies is 113.
There is a Latvian language hotline 8989 which allows people to both register for vaccination and receive answers to questions about the process of vaccination. There is also a website to register for vaccination, https://manavakcina.lv/ which is currently available in Latvian, Russian and a newly-released English-language version.
All arrivals to the country (including returnees) need to fill in an electronic declaration prior to coming to Latvia. It is available at the website covidpass.lv and arrivals need to show a negative Covid-19 test from a maximum 72 hours before arrival.
Residents in Latvia will be able to sign up for Covid-19 vaccine jabs once additional doses arrive
Once vaccination centres receive confirmation that additional doses are on the way, it will be possible to resume jab scheduling, says Latvian National Health Service’s vaccination project representative Agnese Strazda.
The more vaccine doses are supplied to Latvia, the more residents and the sooner they will be able to sign up for their jab.
According to Strazda, people are able to sign up at manavakcina.lv because the amount of vaccines distributed among general practitioners and healthcare institutions allows it.
It is also important to keep in mind that a number of vaccine doses are already reserved to administer second injections.
«We are working together with the largest vaccination centres regarding new scheduled jabs for the coming days. It is vital for us to move from the manual jab assignment method – when healthcare institutions and general practitioners work with manually diverted residents – and plan available vaccine dose usage appropriately,» explains the vaccination project’s representative.
Strazda says a transition has commenced towards a format when additional people who want a jab are able to pick a time and place. Currently residents are not able to sign up for a jab as freely as they would like. This is because the number of vaccine doses available in Latvia is limited at the moment. Soon enough, however, the country will receive a new shipment, says he vaccination project’s representative.
Latvian Minister of Health Daniels Pavļuts said on Twitter vaccination centres will be able to open up more options for signing up for a jab.
«We’ve heard about worrying reports of manavakcina.lv not offering vaccine jab sign up options. This will change,» said the minister. He adds a shipment of 12 000 Moderna vaccine doses reached Latvia yesterday. 33 000 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech were brought to the country on 26 April. According to the minister, all decisions regarding the use of the newly supplied doses are ready.
As of 26 April the mistake of last week is fixed – it is possible to decide on a time and place to receive a jab using 8989 hotline. This is an option for seniors and other priority groups.
A week ago healthcare institutions started using a new IT system to process Covid-19 jab requests – ViVat.