This Week in Lithuania

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Lithuania Bans Russian Television Channel

Lithuania’s media watchdog says it has banned broadcasts of the state-controlled Russian television channel RT, effective July 9, following a similar decision made in neigbouring Latvia the previous week.

The Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania said thiss decision follows recommendations of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry to close the channel, saying the Russian who allegedly controls RT, Dmitry Kiselev, is currently blacklisted by the European Union.

The ban includes five different RT channels: RT, RT HD, RT Spanish, RT Documentary and RT Documentary HD.   NYT

 COVID Decreases in Lithuania

As of Monday, July 13, only one new case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Lithuania. In total there have been 1,875 recorded cases. 213 patients are still recovering from the virus, 79 deaths have occurred, 12 other COVID-19 positive cases since June 1, 48 imported cases have been detected in Lithuania. In all, 465,396 tests have been carried out, 3730 of them on Monday.

The Lithuanian government would consider making face-masks mandatory in public again if coronavirus cases in the country spiked to over 15 per 100,000 people, Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga said. The average incidence of COVID-19 in Lithuania currently is 1.9 cases per 100,000 people.

On July 15, Lithuania is sending essential medical supplies to combat the coronavirus to the United States of America. The medical equipment was manufactured in Lithuania, according to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

In the shipment are 11,400 protective face shields acquired from UAB Medienos Era, 10,752 disposable isolation gowns purchased from UAB Interscalit, as well as 19,642 pieces of lung equipment from Intersurgical UAB. The shipment will assist medical professionals on the front lines of COVID-19 in the State of Pennsylvania, as well as other services staff.

On July 16, the Cabinet decided to suspend the attendance limit on both indoor and outdoor cultural and sports events starting in September, but will set mandatory safety requirements. The current plan allows indoor events with up to 400 attendees starting July 17, 500 from August 1 to 15, and 600 starting August 16. By the end of the summer the attendance limit on outdoor events will reach 1,000. Culture Minister Mindaugas Kvietkauskas said safety requirements will depend on the coronavirus situation, adding that the plan may be revised if the situation changes.  Delfi.lt