RIGA, Dec 18 (LETA) - The government might decide on mobility restrictions, assessing a number of criteria in Covid-19 spready, said prime minister's parliamentary secretary Evika Silina (New Unity) at the Saeima defense, interior affairs and corruption prevention committee today.

Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity) said that if the epidemiological situation does not change in ten days, mobility restrictions should be introduced.

Commenting on the possible restrictions and criteria, Silina said that the government and epidemiologists discussed these issues yesterday. Deciding on additional restrictions, the government will assess the chain of the number of new Covid-19 cases, the number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients, the severity of their health condition, the capacity of hospitals to treat these patients and other criteria, said Silina.

"It has been decided that it is not possible to name one figure that would trigger the restrictions, it is a set of criteria. The dynamics also has to be considered," said Silina.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been growing in Latvia for a long time, said Karins. In order to turn the things around, the government today approved additional restrictions for the holiday season.

"If we cannot improve the situation in ten days time, we will have to go to full lockdown, even though neither I nor the government, nor residents want this. We have to follow the rules for this holiday season, all of us," said Karins, urging the public to stick to the new rules for three weeks and stop Covid-19 from spreading.

The main purpose of the new restrictions is to limit contacts. "Let's stay home, avoid gatherings. I'm convinced that, together, we can bring the Covid-19 crisis to an end. All people need to realize how serious the situation is, including in hospitals," said Karins.