As if we didn’t have enough problems, Covid also raises his head

The satirist Mikhail Zhvanetsky is said to have said that it is better to deal with troubles in the order in which they occur. But the Ukrainian war, refugees, the looming food crisis, rising car fuel and combustible fuel prices all overlap... It seems like we have enough problems, but it is not enough yet. Lest the people of Latvia think that life is a peach, Covid that has been killing life and ruining the country's economy for the past two years is slowly returning to the top of the list of current disasters.

"We do see that the number of patients who have contracted Covid-19 has been increasing over the last week. It is mainly those who come from abroad who get sick. They infect the whole family, and the concern is that parents and grandparents are getting sick," said Sarmīte Veide, President of the Latvian Association of GPs, in an interview with LSM.

Jurijs Perevoščikovs, Director of the Infectious Diseases Risk Analysis and Prevention Department at the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDPC), is again an active warner, worrier, scarer and explainer of the situation on television. It is really bad that there has been a major outbreak in Portugal. Latvian GPs see a bleak picture. After the peak in Europe, travelers who have gone abroad for holidays or business trips are bringing the disease here. And the virus is said to be tricky - finding its way to people whose immune systems are weakened. Last week, the number of new infections was more than 1000 for three days in a row. That's not a small number.

If Perevoščikovs is talking like this, then other virus experts, with Uga Dumpis at the forefront, will probably also comment on Covid. Perhaps also the Minister of Health? But the Minister of Health is in an awkward situation at the moment. A large part of the public, which has now somewhat forgotten about the nonsensical restrictions and money-wasting of Covid times, will become annoyed when they see Daniels Pavļuts. But annoyed people are an impatient electorate.

Pavļuts might want to close the border and the airport today, to impose a lockdown and a curfew, but this is definitely not the moment.

Now the election campaign is just beginning in earnest, but during the campaign we should be doing positive, popular things, not repressions and bans. On October 2, then yes - then we can stop pussyfooting with people, ban gatherings larger than three and allow one shopper per 100 square meters in a shop. And require people to wear gas masks and rubber overalls in every vehicle.

There are also problems with Covid money. It has been spent. A whopping €16.6 million worth of vaccines has been donated to Nicaragua for some reason. But if there is no money to share and spend, it is not interesting for politicians to ask for a beating and pay too much attention to Covid.

It must be assumed that serious measures against Covid will be postponed until the autumn, when it will suddenly be realized that we have major problems.

One of the problems that is not at all clear now is what to do about vaccination? Those who are already hardened opponents of vaccination will not think twice about this. But what about those who are law-abiding and believe in science? There are many who have been vaccinated once, twice and a third time, but still got Covid. It may have been contracted in a milder form than if one had not been vaccinated, but the fact is that vaccination is not a guaranteed lifesaver. Should we now vaccinate a fourth time? Who is eligible for the fourth vaccine, is it recommended? Will it be the case that if a person is 60, he will get the vaccine straight away, but if he is 59, he will have to wait for who knows how long? As can be seen, mutations of the virus are taking place and the old vaccines are not suitable against the new strains. When will vaccines be invented that will work?

As can be seen from the Portuguese example, the season is not the determining factor in the spread of the virus - it can also emerge when it is warm or even very hot. However, Latvia will be at greater risk in autumn, when holidays are over, school starts, it gets colder and people stay indoors more. So, out of the blue, Covid will be here again.