Health Minister: a case of South African Covid strain found in Latvia

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In Latvia, the South African variant of Covid-19 has been identified, Health Minister Daniels Pavļuts told Latvian Radio March 22.

At present, there is one case where the South African type has been identified. The South African strain is considered highly contagious.

The Minister said that the distribution of the South African type should be limited as far as possible. It is very dangerous because Covid-19 vaccines are also less effective against it, he said.

The incidence of Covid-19 in Latvia is slowly decreasing, but we should be careful about importing new types, the minister said. Pavļuts said that experts are preparing a detailed scenario for how to proceed if the incidence of Covid-19 in the country increases.

Also this week, vaccination against Covid-19 will continue with full capacity (2,500 - 3,000 vaccinations a day). This week, people with chronic diseases at all ages will also start to be vaccinated. These are people with oncological diseases, diabetes, heart diseases and other diseases.

In the first week of April, according to Pavļuts, Latvia will be ready to start mass vaccinations - 100,000 jabs a week. Physically, this will naturally depend on the supply of vaccines. The minister said that in April there will be “significantly more vaccines than in March”. He didn't give an exact figure, because there were still discussions about it. 

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