Coronavirus case total reaches 612 in Latvia

The new figure was released by the Disease Prevention and Control Center (SPKC) which said 1,198 tests had been conducted during the previous 24-hour period.

In total 26,656 tests have been carried out since February 29.

35 patients are in hospital, most of whom have moderate symptoms of the disease but 3 of whom are designated as being in a serious condition. So far two deaths have been recorded in Latvia.

You can read [in English] the current emergency regulations introduced by the government to tackle the spread of coronavirus at the government website. As reported by LSM earlier, the regulations were further extended following a government meeting March 29, enforcing a two-person, two-meter rule for physical social interactions. The relevant section of the regulations can be read in English in our earlier story.

On April 7 the current state of emergency and current regulations were extended until May 12.

There is a dedicated official COVID-19 website available with a variety of relevant information and contacts available in Latvian and Russian.

The Health Ministry also has this Latvian-language PDF file containing a long list of useful telephone numbers and other contact details. The number for medical emergencies is 113, the number for enquiring about a COVID-19 test if you have developed some potential symptoms after returnign from oversease or being in contact with someone confirmed as having coronavirus is 8303 and the SPKC COVID-19 advice helpline is 67387661.

The SPKC has information in English about the approved methods of protecting yourself from the disease, symptoms and medical procedures and an interactive map plotting the incidence and distribution of the disease in Latvia.

Doctors at the Rīga Eastern Clinical University Hospital released a video reminidng the public to stay at home over the Easter holidays and in particular to protect especially vulnerable sections of society by displaying a responsible and calm attitude.

"The virus has no holiday and no ethnicity," the video concludes.

A similar message was delivered by the Health Ministry in a new video clip of its own - albeit in a rather more unorthodox manner - featuring a grandma apparently reassuring her relatives that she's okay while urging them to maintain distance lest the same fate befall her as her neighbor who was visited by relatives. It concludes by revealing the old lady flying a drone delivering a food package.