RIGA, Feb 11 (LETA) - Latvia's municipal elections scheduled for the beginning of this summer should not be postponed, Environmental Protection and Regional Development Minister Toms Pless (For Development/For) said today in an interview with TV3 channel. 

There has been a debate in the government coalition about a possible postponement of the local elections due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic but the proposal has not gained sufficient support. 

Pless believes that the elections should not be put off. Instead, the government must take care of public health and safety, but "we must not dislodge the cornerstones of democracy", the minister said. 

Pless also noted that employees of election commissions are among the groups prioritized for vaccination against Covid-19, although the speed of their immunization will depend on how soon vaccine doses are delivered to Latvia. 

The minister does not expect the pandemic to cause shortages of election commission staff. 

He also voiced support for reopening schools based on the regional approach, provided that all safety measures are put in place, because we "will have to live with the virus in the long term".

In that context, Pless has urged a more extensive use of a waste water testing method, developed by Latvian scientists, to preemptively detect possible Covid-19 outbreaks in municipalities.