Latvian Saeima’s Defense, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee decided to conceptually approve the option on letting services providers work as usual as long as they had a negative Covid-19 test result. They will need to cover related expenses on their own, however.
This may not apply to employees of healthcare and public institutions.
The chairman of the committee Juris Rancans suggested improving the proposal submitted by Regina Locmele that would allow service providers working normally with just a negative Covid-19 test result.
Rancans proposed outlining in the law that service providers would need to undergo an express test at the beginning of every work day. The cost of this test would be covered by employees. He also proposed leaving this norm out for social care centers and healthcare institutions. People employed in these sectors will be permitted to work only if they are vaccinated or recovered.
Martins Steins from Minister of Health Daniels Pavluts’ political party was against this proposal. Raimonds Bergmanis and Ivans Klementjevs, on the other hand, opposed the requirement for people to cover test-related expenses from their own wallets.
MPs Atis Zakatistovs and Ainars Latkovskis supported the proposal to making vaccination compulsory at social care centers and healthcare institutions as long as vaccination was compulsory for Saeima members as well.
Rancans proposed that service providers that refused to vaccinate might have to undergo a quick antigen test to ensure service provision was safe. However, Ministry of Health representative Jana Feldmane said quick tests were safe only at the moment of the test – in a couple of hours after the test the tested person might become Covid-19 positive and potentially dangerous.
However, the committee’s chairman stressed this policy was nothing more than political score-settling.
Latkovskis said from August 1 Covid-19 tests were no longer provided for free in Latvia. There are exceptions, however. He believes Saeima’s Legal Affairs Office should consider if law amendments need to be discussed in more detail, specifically who is supposed to cover test-related expenses. At the same time, he stresses that by dictating compulsory vaccination for certain professions, members of the parliament have to follow the principle of equality and get vaccinated in solidarity.
New Unity faction leader voiced concerns that residents would look at Saeima members: if they made others vaccinate but refused to vaccinate themselves.
“If Saeima members are permitted something other are not, there is no way to make people obey,” said Latkovskis.
Rancans agreed Saeima members should undergo compulsory vaccination. He did say, however, that work in the parliament was not the same as the work done by healthcare and social care workers. He says in this particular case no sectors will be discriminated because those are narrow and high risk groups.
Members of the committee Zakatistovs added that the state paid for vaccines. If a person does not want to use them, he or she should “prove they have the right to do their jobs, but at the expense of their own wallet”. He agreed with Latkovskis, adding that by making vaccination compulsory for others, the same should apply to Saeima members.
Ministry of Health parliamentary secretary Ilmars Duritis reported that nearly 90% of healthcare workers in Latvia had received at least one vaccine injection and more than 80% had received both. (BNN/Business World Magazine)