On Thursday neighboring Lithuania reached the point where the healthcare system could not treat all patients anymore and they had to be sorted in priority groups. Rācenis said that he is not too optimistic and cannot say that we will not get that far.
If the number of ill people continues to grow the way it is now, we will be at that point, said Rācenis.
He said that in case the situation is critical, a full quarantine will have to be introduced like it was in the spring in many European countries: people not allowed to leave the house at all.
Latvian healthcare system already announced a state of emergency Thursday, which formally allows hospitals to reorganize work more freely so that all COVID-19 patients can be cared for.
