He said that currently the incidence of Covid-19 in Latvia continues to grow and there is no evidence that the morbidity curve would bet turning downward. The curve in children has stabilized, while the incidence rate for older people will continue to grow.
The infectologist said the incidence of Covid-19 could start to decrease in around ten days, but it is not definite. The situation will get better with time, the question is how long it will take. “I'm optimistic about the summer,” Dumpis said.
According to the infectologist, as the number of patients in Covid-19 is increasing in hospitals, medical reasons are not why the government plans to remove the restrictions. “These are other issues that are forcing these restrictions to be lifted,” said Dumpis, adding that hospitals mostly had elderly people who had not been vaccinated or boosted.
Due to the fact that many people will also have recovered from Covid-19 and therefore obtained immunity, there will be protection from new outbreaks for some time. A new wave of Covid-19 outbreaks is likely to follow in the fall, but it is unclear how strong it will be, Dumpis said, adding he presumed it would not be "as dramatic" anymore.
Dumpis said that Covid-19 would not go anywhere and people would have to live with it. According to him, all the newest medicines that help the fight against Covid-19 are available in Latvia, but unlike vaccines, they are very expensive. According to the expert, older and at-risk patients will need another vaccine against Covid-19, possibly in the fall.
