RIGA (Reuters) – Latvia will raise the limit for public gatherings to 25 people from two beginning May 12, as the country starts to ease restrictions introduced back in March to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, the government said on Thursday.
The government still extended the state of emergency, which has allowed it to introduce a series of actions to curb COVID-19, to June 9, but said a string of measures would be eased starting on Tuesday.
“The first is that it will be allowed to gather up to 25 people at the same time, but … precaution remains,” Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said late on Thursday, adding people would still have to observe 2 meters distance from each other.
Also, sport activities without physical contact will again be allowed, libraries will re-open, and all shops can again be open over weekends.
Latvia currently has 909 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 18 deaths.
The Baltic states on Wednesday announced plans to resume internal cross-border travel for their citizens from May 15.
(Reporting by Gederts Gelzis; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
