LT Coronavirus Update

Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys / J. Stacevičius/LRT
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Lithuania is moving from a reactive to a proactive stage in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to growing vaccination and testing levels, according to Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys. “The nature of our war against the virus is changing,” the minister told reporters on May 20, commenting on the latest epidemiological statistics. “There was a time when we were running after the virus and it was leading us, but with vaccination and testing, we are now starting to be proactive.”

As the pace of vaccination against Covid-19 is accelerating, hospitalized Covid-19 patients are getting younger, Dulkys noted. He added, however, that the occupancy of intensive care unit beds is not high. “Overall, we see the first good trends, but we can’t relax,” Dulkys said. “We regard this as a constant race against the virus.”

Lithuania’s 14-day coronavirus infection rate currently stands at 518.8 cases per 100,000 people, and the rate of positive tests has been at 4.8% percent over the past seven days.

There were 865 new coronavirus cases confirmed over May 19. The number of new infections confirmed in the past seven days dropped by more than 22% compared to a week earlier.

A total of 1,164 Covid-19 patients are currently being treated in Lithuanian hospitals, including 105 in intensive care units. The total number of patients is down from 1,196 on May 18.

News from LRT.lt