Latvia decided to reimpose a month-long Covid-19 lockdown after a new wave fo Covid-19.
Latvia becomes the first country in Europe to reimpose far-reaching restrictions as countries across the continent suffer a new wave of cases.
The new measures include restrictions on schools, shops and public events from Oct. 21 until Nov. 15.
“Our health system is in danger. The only way out of this crisis is to receive vaccination,” the prime minister, Krišjānis Kariņš, said. He further said the country’s low vaccination rate was to blame for the surge in hospitalisations.
“I have to apologise to those who already received their vaccination,” Kariņš said, adding that only essential manufacturing, construction and critical jobs would be allowed to continue in person.
Only 57% of the 1.9 million Latvians have already received vaccination, well below the EU average of 74%, as the government this week imposed a month-long night-time curfew, from 8pm to 5am, and closed schools and all non-essential stores.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that a new coronavirus “variant of interest” named Mu, also known by its scientific name as B.1.621.
The health organisation further said it closely monitors the new variant’s spread.
The mu SARS-CoV-2 strain first appeared in Colombia in January, as a “variant of interest.”
Since then, there have been “sporadic reports” of cases and outbreaks in South America and Europe.
Variants of interest have genetic changes that affect virus characteristics including transmissibility, disease severity and immune escape.
According to the WHO, variants of interest differ from variants of concern. The later can cause a decrease in effectiveness of public health measures, vaccines or therapeutics.
