Latvia's broadcast watchdog, the National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) has prepared a policy document that asks for about €1.6 million in support for commercial media, which are seeing huge losses in advertising revenue during the Covid-19 crisis.
The currently implemented social distancing measures are having the necessary mitigating effect on the spread of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus, so from an epidemiological perspective there's no need to increase the restrictions, according to Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC) Infectious Disease Risk Analysis and Prevention Department Director Jurijs Perevoščikovs speaking on LTV April 6.
A group of Bulgarian citizens who were not allowed to transit into Lithuania will be put into quarantine at a former school premises in Latvia, Health Minister Ilze Viņķele decided April 6, reports LSM's Latvian language service.
“Mārzemīte”, the second largest preschool in Mārupe, has been closed for two weeks after an employee tested positive for the Covid-19 novel coronavirus, according to Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC) representative Ilze Arāja.
A further 9 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Latvian territory April 6, raising the total number of cases from 533 on Sunday to 542 on Monday.
A further 24 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Latvian territory April 5, raising the total number of cases from 509 on Saturday to 533 on Sunday.
Latvian President Egils Levits delivered a special message to NATO personnel April 4, marking the 71st birthday of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in which he thanked them for their contribution to Latvia's security. You can read the text below and see him deliver the mesage in English above.
A second COVID-19 related death has been registered in Latvia, the Disease Prevention and Control Center (SPKC) informed the LETA newswire April 4.
A further 16 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Latvian territory April 4, raising the total number of cases from 493 on Friday to 509 on Saturday.
The social distancing and self-isolation continues, but that doesn't mean your only option for weekend activity is (decreased quality) Netflix and chill. Everyone is adapting to the new normal as the government mulls over extending emergency measures - the Culture Ministry has created a calendar of over 100 online events, and LSM.lv has released a downloadable calendar of children's activities for every day in April. Check out our picks for making the most of the weekend downtime!
Latvia has recorded its first death in a case linked to the coronavirus on April 3, according to Latvian Television (LTV).
At an extraordinary meeting on April 3, the government supported an amendment to the Law on Emergency Situation and State of Exception, which gives the Cabinet of Ministers a right to extend a state of emergency several times, reported the LETA newswire.
The number of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus in Latvia increased to 493 on Friday, April 3.
The crisis brought on by the Covid-19 novel coronavirus pandemic has also hit the Ulubele animal shelter, which is in desperate need of financing in order to continue operations, according to shelter manager Ilze Džonsone.
The Vidzeme District Court in Rīga has ordered controversial Saeima MP Aldis Gobzems to pay €11,833 to the family of Mārtiņš Bunkus, a lawyer who was murdered in broad daylight in Rīga two years ago in a case that remains unsolved.
The number of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus in Latvia increased to 458 on Thursday, April 2.
Three police officers who have tested positive for the Covid-19 novel coronavirus, and one was infected while performing police duties, according to Acting State Police Chief Andrejs Grišins.
Of those in Latvia infected by the Covid-19 novel coronavirus, around 30 have already recovered, while at least 2,200 residents remain under self-isolation, according to Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC) expert Jurijs Perevoščikovs on March 31.
From April 1 doctors will prescribe the cheapest medication based on active ingredients for state compensated medications, saving both the state and residents money, according to State Agency of Medicines (ZVA) Director Svens Henkuzens.
Riga Stradiņš University (RSU) together with partner clinical university hospitals from 14 countries is involved in a large-scale European Union (EU)-sponsored HORIZON 2020 Diamonds project worth EUR 22.5 million, it said March 30.
As of April 6, television channels ReTV and Sportacentrs.com will broadcast content for schoolchildren and become educational channels under the Tava Klase (Your Class) banner, Education Minister Ilga Šuplinska (New Conservative Party) told reporters March 31.
27 cases of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus have been confirmed at the Rīga men's homeless shelter run by the Blue Cross Evangelical Christian Congregation in cooperation with the Rīga City Council Welfare Department, according to Latvian Television on March 31.
The number of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus in Latvia has passed the 400 mark, increasing to 446 on Wednesday, April 1.
From now on, the penalty for non-compliance with compulsory emergency epidemiological requirements will be up to EUR 2,000 for natural persons and up to EUR 5,000 for legal entities, the Latvian government decided on Tuesday, March 31.
Schools are unlikely to reopen for the rest of the spring semester, but the length of the school year isn't likely to be extended either, according to Education and Science Minister Ilga Šuplinska (New Conservative Party) on March 31.
As previously reported by LSM, on March 29 the Latvian government again updated its emergency regulations, introducing a new 'two-person, two-meter' rule limiting public physical interactions.
Six employees of the Jelgava funeral home Velis-A were found to have contracted the Covid-19 novel coronavirus, according to the company's board chair Aldis Knāviņš, who himself had also tested positive for the virus, on March 30.
The number of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus in Latvia increased to 398 on Tuesday, March 31.
President of Latvia Egils Levits has drawn attention to the need to support credible media outlets through the crisis and underlined the importance of a professionally-maintained information space to give the public access to information that can help them make choices about their behavior.
Fire season in Latvia gets a bit dangerous when the illegal, but popular practice of burning last year's grass begins in the spring - over the weekend the State Fire and Rescue Service had to put out 121 such fires, but this year landfill fires are entering the ring too - one on March 28 in Tukums and another today in Rīga, according to Latvian Television.