Latvia tightens COVID-19 rules as infections soar

Latvia is tightening COVID-19 rules again amid soaring infections, as the country's number of new coronavirus cases exceeded 1,100 for a third consecutive day on Friday, reported Xinhua.

The cumulative 14-day number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in Latvia topped 500 on Friday, while the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) reported 1,127 new cases and four more deaths from the coronavirus infection, with unvaccinated people making up around 78 percent of new COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile, the rapidly growing number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients is already threatening to overwhelm Latvia's hospitals. Pauls Stradins University Hospital, one of Latvia's largest inpatient facilities, declared an emergency on Friday as patients kept coming in.

Preparing for a continued influx of COVID-19 patients, Latvia's hospital system is already rescheduling elective therapies and operations to prioritize the treatment of severely ill coronavirus patients, the health ministry said.

Pauls Stradins University, for instance, has set aside 88 intensive care (ICU) beds and has prepared to provide oxygen therapy to 150 patients. The hospital is currently treating 55 COVID-19 patients, including 18 ICU cases.

Across Latvia, hospitals have provided and equipped over 1,000 beds for COVID-19 patients. On Friday, the number of COVID-19 patients in Latvia's hospitals exceeded 500 for the first time since late May, reaching 518.

The government, meanwhile, approved new restrictions against the pandemic this week. Under the new restrictions, all indoor services, except for essential services like postal or medical services, can only be provided in the so-called safe or partly safe areas.

This means that as of Oct. 11, both services providers and their clients will need COVID-19 certificates confirming vaccination against or recovery from the virus. The partly safe areas will be designated for people with negative COVID-19 test results.

Essential services like public transport will still be provided to everyone regardless of their vaccination or COVID-19 status.

The government also decided to oblige employees in the health, education and social care sectors to get inoculated against COVID-19 and tasked employers with ensuring epidemiological safety at workplaces.

The government has yet to decide on new restrictions in retail trade. Health Minister Daniels Pavluts voiced the hope that an agreement will be reached soon with the Economics Ministry on a new regulation for this sector.

Latvia has so far recorded 159,418 COVID-19 cases and 2,721 people have died of the disease. Slightly over 45 percent of the population have been fully vaccinated against the virus.