Egils Levits spoke with Mayor of Valmiera Jānis Baiks, Mayor of Jelgava Andris Rāviņš and Mayor of Rēzekne Aleksandrs Bartaševičs. Conversation focused on how municipalities protect their residents against Covid-19 outbreak. Mayors briefed President Levits about specific support their municipalities are offering low-income households and other risk groups, and local businesses.
President of Latvia praised Valmiera City Council for being proactive and placing all need-to-know information on municipal portal to help local residents access diverse everyday guidance on emergency rules and available support in one place. President of Latvia decided to reach out to Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments after the call and propose to compile best practice guide, which would serve as an inspiration to other Latvian municipalities and help them define the most suitable support for their local community.
Egils Levits also praised and thanked all regional business owners for being active and creative, and for quickly restructuring their operations to manufacture essential goods that society needs most. It also became clear during the conversation that although many companies have suspended their operations, there are some regional enterprises who are forced to hire new staff and increase output volumes due to crisis. These companies now need help in advertising the new jobs.
Local government leaders also told President Levits that State Police, Municipal Police and local governments should improve their coordination to ensure that joint efforts lead to best results in curbing the Covid-19 outbreak.