According to the Prime Minister, “already in the beginning of April, the British strain of coronavirus will dominate in Latvia”, which, according to experts, is much more contagious. “Do I understand correctly that we are on the brink of a terrible tsunami?” The head of government asked.
Yuri Perevoshchikov, an epidemiologist at the Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said in turn that judging by the spread of the British strain in other countries, the prime minister is right, but Latvia’s different starting position needs to be taken into account.
According to the specialist, after analyzing 96 samples last week, the coronavirus of the British strain was detected in 8%. cases, in the second week of February – 3.1%, and in the first – 1%. cases. The expert did not rule out that in four weeks this variety will dominate in Latvia.
Dita Heiberga, head of the Disaster Medicine Center, predicts that the number of hospitalized patients in Latvia could triple in 4-6 weeks due to the spread of the British strain of coronavirus.
“There are now about 850 patients in the country’s hospitals, and if their number approaches 3,000, there will be twice as many patients as in mid-January, when there was a peak,” she said. Therefore, additional beds for coronavirus-infected patients are already being prepared in Latvian hospitals.
In Latvia, the first case of coronavirus infection was recorded on March 2 last year. To date, Covid-19 has been diagnosed in 81,793 residents of the country, with 1,546 infected people dying.
In the country at least until April 6. power emergency.
In Latvia, 12,678 tests last day revealed 669 new cases of coronavirus infection COVID-19, and 24 previously infected people died, the Center for Disease Prevention and Control said on Tuesday.
The previous day, 274 new cases of COVID-19 and the deaths of four patients were reported.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 82,462 cases of infection have been confirmed in Latvia, killing 1,570 people living with coronavirus.
The incidence of COVID-19 in the last two weeks in Latvia is 502.9 cases per 100 thousand. population.
84 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in the country on Monday, the Health Service said.
The number of COVID-19 patients treated in hospitals per day decreased from 854 to 830 people. Of these, 82 are in serious condition.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in Latvia, 7,917 patients with coronavirus infection have been discharged from medical institutions, 101 of them in the previous day.
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