He said that, in Latvia, a large part of the society also fails to comply with the rules for reducing COVID-19's spread.
The number of people flouting the rules appears to have increased significantly by summer, as was not the case at the beginning of the pandemic in the spring.
According to the epidemiologist, it is necessary in Latvia to ensure that the public complies more with the rules for reducing the spread of COVID-19. It is therefore necessary to explain more, to tell more about examples from real life, why precautions are needed.
“The recipe is known, the general public is the most important [thing],” the epidemiologist said.
“This is the biggest problem of Western society – the failure to communicate with these groups of [conspiracy theorists].”
According to Dumpis, there is no “no way back” – if safety measures are to be set aside, the situation will get worse. In France, for example, the situation with COVID-19 is no longer controllable and they can no longer provide basic health services. In the meantime, some countries, including neighboring Estonia, show that the situation is improving.
“I call for everyone to understand – the rules apply to everyone,” said Dumpis, noting that the precautions currently in place are temporary and not yet planned in winter. But people also need to understand at the moment – there is no need to go to parties and similar events at this time.
