The Lithuanian police are planning a tougher watch on how people are following lockdown restrictions over the Easter weekend.
While checkpoints on intercity roads will be deployed to implement a ban on non-essential travel between municipalities, police officers are also planning to patrol in public places, police spokesman Ramūnas Matonis told LRT TV.
The officers will be seeing that people do not congregate in big groups and will also be on the watch for private parties, according to Matonis.
Under the current lockdown rules, no more than two households should interact outdoors, while private parties and events are not allowed.
A government commission is meeting on Wednesday to discuss how to ensure the observation of rules over the coming Easter weekend.
“The police force will be fully mobilised over the holidays, we'll use help from the military, the Riflemen's Union and other partners,” Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė told BNS.
Last week, the government extended a ban on travelling between municipalities for non-essential reasons. Legitimate reasons to cross municipal boundaries include travel for work, to provide or seek healthcare, and to attend to one's property in another municipality.
“We hope that people travelling for essential reasons do not have to wait long in jams, but controls will be up,” Bilotaitė said. “Moreover, the police will be checking passengers on trains and responding to reports about domestic gatherings.”
Lithuania has seen an increase in Covid-19 infection rate in recent weeks, with the 14-day rate of new cases rising to 318 per 100,000 people.
In some municipalities, however, the rates are much higher than the national average, with Širvintos (953), Marijampolė (655), and Vilnius City (618) at the top.
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