“As the disease spreads, the lives of vaccinated people will remain unchanged, but unvaccinated people are likely to have more and more restrictions – especially assembly restrictions – how many people can come together,” the Prime Minister said.
Health Minister Daniels Pavļuts said at the government meeting on August 17 that stricter restrictions could be imposed when the cumulative incidence rate per 100,000 people in Latvia would reach 100. Although in Latvia the incidence of Covid-19 is well below that of the neighboring countries, there is a risk of a Delta variant outbreak in the autumn.
Kariņš said: “We've got a big storm coming, and that storm is this outbreak of the Covid-19 delta variant. Whether we want it or not, it will also come to our country, as is the case in Lithuania, Estonia, and elsewhere. We still have it at a relatively low level. It is best to protect yourself by vaccinating.”
The Prime Minister noted that a larger vaccination proportion in the population would provide both the opportunity for children to learn in person throughout the school year and “keep an open economy”.
Regarding the intention to allow employees to be dismissed without a Covid-19 certificate, Kariņš said: “This is somewhat misunderstood: neither the government nor the Saeima talks about mandatory vaccination but about a duty in certain professions, because we all have the right not to get sick when receiving a service.”
“Our opponent is this pandemic. As humanity and Latvian society, we are fighting a virus that does not understand the concept of compromise,” Kariņš said.
