Conscientious actions of every resident of Latvia and the avoidance of face-to-face contact with people outside their household will be crucial in the joint fight against Covid-19 during the holiday season at the end of the year. As Christmas Eve is approaching, the number of infected people exceeds 1,000 per day, reducing access to medical treatment and losing more and more lives in the fight against Covid-19.
On Thursday, 17 December, the Cabinet of Ministers approved additional restrictions in the Order “On Emergency Situations”, inviting people to only celebrate holidays within their own household, deliberately avoiding visits regardless of the total number of people or households. Until 11 January, the condition that all public and private events are prohibited and cancelled, with the exception of events within a single household, remains in force.
The clarifications in the security measures for the holiday season approved by the Cabinet of Ministers do not restrict freedom of movement. Public transport will continue to run and people are encouraged to take the opportunity to spend time outdoors in nature.
During the holiday season, it will be possible to purchase food, household goods, hygiene products, food, and animal products, press publications, public transport tickets, face masks and other personal protective equipment items, as well as flowers and Christmas trees at points of sale. These conditions will enter into force on 19 December and will remain in force until 11 January.
Pharmacies, including veterinary, optical stores and fuel stations, will continue to operate as usual. There are no additional restrictions on trade through remote solutions, such as online shopping.
Stocks of food, medicines, and other goods at Latvian points of sale and warehouses are sufficient, therefore there is no need to purchase reserves for a long period of time.
It should be noted that from 21 December to 11 January, only the most essential services will be available in person. On-site services may be provided for which there is no direct contact between the service provider and the recipients. During the provision of the on-site service, the contact should not exceed 15 minutes and a face mask should be worn by all present.
On-site services, which can be dispensed with for three weeks, are prohibited, including beauty care, piercing, tattooing, photoshoots, entertainment, and wellness (SPA, saunas, games rooms, etc.).
Entrepreneurs and workers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic have the opportunity to apply for both downtime allowance and wage subsidies for part-time workers, the self-employed and patent payers.
Detailed information on security measures will be available on the website www.covid19.gov.lv after the amendments to Cabinet of Ministers Order No. 655 “Regarding Declaration on the Emergency Situation” enter into force.
Reinis Grāvītis
Press Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers
Telephone: +371 67082919; +371 27011868;
E-mail: reinis.gravitis@mk.gov.lv