RIGA, Dec 30 (LETA) - About 10 percent of clients at state social care centers are currently infected with Covid-19, Ministry of Welfare spokesman Egils Zarins told LETA.

He said that at the beginning of the week, there were 407 Covid-19 positive clients at 13 State Social Care Center (VSAC) subsidiaries throughout the country, as well as 84 employees infected with the virus. The VSAC currently has approximately 4,000 clients and 3,000 employees.

Zarins emphasized that compared to the previous week, there has been a slight reduction in the number of Covid-19 positive cases.

As reported, earlier this month, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity) issued a decree ordering the ministers of welfare and health, as well as the acting minister for environmental protection and regional development to take urgent measures to strengthen epidemiological requirements and controls at all care homes across Latvia to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

"The alarming reports that have been received in recent days about outbreaks of the infection at social care homes suggest that the responsible ministries and authorities must urgently step up epidemiological measures to eradicate Covid-19," Karins said.

Regular and fast testing of all employees and clients of the care homes is needed in order to discover new Covid-19 clusters as soon as possible and the controls of compliance with epidemiological requirements must be stepped up, the prime minister said.