As of September 28, 2020, persons arriving or returning to Latvia will receive a text message informing them that self-isolation and precautionary measures must be observed when entering Latvia from abroad with a high risk of Covid-19, and a call not to expose others to the risk of infection.
Today, on September 22, the Cabinet of Ministers reviewed and supported the informative report on the use of SMS notification to inform persons about the Covid-19 epidemiological safety measures established in Latvia.
In response to global and European trends in the prevalence of Covid-19 infection, countries have established different epidemiological precautions. Currently, the spread of Covid-19 infection in Latvia is being successfully controlled, therefore work should be continued to strengthen the common understanding of the Latvian population and guests about the importance of the established epidemiological safety measures.
The use of SMS notification allows for flexible response and decision-making, considering the changing epidemiological situation in the world and the need to regulate the spread of Covid-19 infection and to regulate epidemiological safety measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 infection.
Evaluating the data on the prevalence of Covid-19 infection and the tendency that approximately 1/3 of infected persons have entered or returned to Latvia from abroad, as well as a large number of outbreaks in Latvia are related to imported Covid-19 cases, the government decided that special attention should be paid to this group of persons. Therefore, it was decided to support informing these persons via using the opportunities of mobile operators to disseminate information to their end users in Latvia and roaming customers in the form of text messages (in addition to other types of information (TV, radio, press, social networks, environmental information)).
Currently, the informative SMS are planned in three languages - Latvian, Russian and English. The efficiency and effectiveness of SMS notifications will be evaluated after the first months of its operation.
Communication department
Phone: +371 67028390
E-mail: komunikācijas@sam.gov.lv