Lithuania’s 14-day coronavirus infection rate currently stands at 438.1 per 100,000 people. Overall, 226,173 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Lithuania since the start of the pandemic. So far, 477,368 people in the country have been vaccinated once and 189,272 people have been given two shots. Hospitalizations for Covid-19 in Lithuania are likely to remain at their peak for about two weeks, say hospital authorities.
The daily number of hospitalizations has surged to 70-80 in the region of Vilnius in the past three weeks, from about 50 previously, according to a press release by Vilnius University’s Santara Clinic, which manages Covid-19 response in the counties of Vilnius and Alytus. The hospital’s director of management said that the so-called third wave which was expected and is being prepared for, is growing not gradually, but with larger-than-usual patient numbers.
The recent rise in new infections and hospitalizations is due to the spread of the so-called British variant of the coronavirus in Lithuania, according to the hospital, with more than half of Covid-19 patients having been infected with this more contagious strain.
As in previous weeks, most hospitalized patients are people aged under 41, as well as those in their 50s, according to Santara Clinic. The hospital notes that the number of elderly patients is declining because a large number of them have been vaccinated or have had the coronavirus.
Almost all of the beds allocated for Covid-19 patients at Vilnius City Clinical Hospital are occupied, with half of the patients aged under 65 years, the capital’s mayor said on April 12.
Officials from Vilnius Municipality and Vilnius University Hospital Santara Clinics, the coordinator of the pandemic situation in the region, are discussing further steps on Monday, according to the mayor. The capital is planning to start vaccinating people aged 55 and over on Friday, according to the mayor.
With news from LRT.lt
