Lithuania considers limiting public gatherings to 2 people

The Lithuanian government's COVID-19 crisis response committee discussed on Monday a proposal to restrict the number of people gathering in a public space to two, down from the current limit of five, and impose a ban on advertising discounts and sales, outgoing Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga said.

"It was proposed to reduce the number of people allowed to gather in public places from five to two," Veryga told a news conference after the committee's meeting.

The proposal came after crowds of people gathered to watch the lighting of official Christmas trees in major cities, even though no official ceremonies were held, according to the minister.

"Another concrete proposal is to prohibit advertising of discounts and sales," he said, adding that the measure should help limit shopper flows in shops.

Veryga said the coronavirus situation in Lithuania "remains very difficult."

"We see that the number of cases in Lithuania remains really high. We are observing some stabilization trends, but there's no decrease yet," he said.

A total of 61,325 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Lithuania since the start of the pandemic. The country currently has 46,378 active cases and 14,211 recoveries.