Lithuania will close most stores from Wednesday in order to curb the spread of the pandemic, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said on Sunday (December 13).
"
The figures are frightening and saddening, the risk is now everywhere,
" she said at an emergency cabinet meeting, two days after her center-right coalition government was sworn in.
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While Lithuania managed to control the first wave of the pandemic in the spring better than other EU countries, it failed to curb the second wave which brought a very large number of infections.
The Baltic country of 2.8 million people recorded 2,849 new cases of infection and 24 deaths on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 815.
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Lithuania has been partially contained for five weeks, with bars, restaurants and most schools closed.
So far, stores and hair salons have remained open.
The new measures exclude food stores and pharmacies.