President of Latvia opened the discussion and invited all participants and viewers to look at COVID-19 from a social and political perspective, not only medical.
On various public attitudes towards COVID-19 and stopping the pandemic, Egils Levits said, ‘We see two camps standing on the opposite sides of the fence. There is the majority of people who believe that COVID-19 is a serious threat and restrictions need to be rigorously followed to prevent further spread. And then there are people who deny COVID-19 due to their own reasons and/or disagree with restrictions. There are three main reasons why those who deny the existence of Covid-19 think so. Ones believe there is no COVID-19 because it is just another conspiracy. Then there are those who think that COVID-19 exists but it is not to harmful or dangerous for human health, just another flu virus. And the third group does realise that COVID-19 is out there and it is dangerous but treats it very lightly, hoping they will not be affected.’
President also offered constitutional analysis of circumstances and cases in which restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 would be appropriate. Egils Levits said: ‘Article 116 of the Satversme (Constitution) stipulates that all people have fundamental rights, but these rights may be subject to legitimate restrictions in cases when it is necessary to protect the rights of others, national democracy or public safety and well-being. Well-being, of course, includes our health and lives. But these restrictions have to meet two criteria – proportionality and equal treatment. Proportionality means that restrictions have to be efficient and match the identified risks associated with spreading of the virus. The higher the risk, the more restrictions are needed. Whereas equal treatment means that equal restrictions should apply to similar cases. It may, of course, differ depending on social context of these restrictions. For example, certain shops may be kept closed at certain times, like clothing stores, while food stores would remain open. The risks are probably the same but people need the food stores to be able to buy their food.’
President continued his thought on rights enshrined in the Constitution by underlining that it is the duty of the Latvian State to protect people’s health and lives. ‘People have the right to demand others to comply with restrictions to protect their own lives and health,’ said Egils Levits.
He also commented the wave of scepticism that has swept the world. These protesters believe in all kinds of conspiracies. They are in various states of denial and fail to see the obvious. It means that there is a rationality crisis, a trend reinforced by social media bubbles.
In conclusion, President of Latvia Egils Levits thanked everyone for taking part in the discussion and said, ‘We need to follow multidisciplinary, integrated approach when deciding about restrictions. They need to be evidence-based, giving us guidance on how to act and what rules to impose to avoid upsetting people and turning them against restrictions that should help stop the COVID-19.’
President of Latvia Egils Levits was joined by other prominent participants such as Minister for Health Ilze Viņķele, Head of the World Health Organisation Country Office Latvia Uldis Mitenbergs, Re:Baltica co-founder, journalist Inga Spriņģe, Associate Professor of University of Latvia Medical Faculty Solvita Olsena, psychotherapist Andris Veselovskis, Chief Infectious Disease Expert of Ministry of Health Uga Dumpis, Director, NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence Jānis Sārts and Professor of University of Latvia, Head of National Research programme reCOVery-LV Inna Šteinbuka.