Veryga: Lithuania plans to extend lockdown until mid-December

"Our proposal was to extend the lockdown until December 31. After a discussion at the COVID-19 (crisis management) committee, the ministers decided to propose that (the Cabinet) extend it until December 16 or 17 on Wednesday," Veryga said at a news conference after the committee's meeting.

"The new government would later decide whether or not to extend the lockdown," he added.

The minister said the Cabinet had not discussed "any special" changes to the lockdown rules.

"There were some proposals from the Culture Ministry to ease the restrictions on museum visits, but it was decided to wait until Wednesday," he said.

Veryga said the third week of the second lockdown should be critical to getting the spread of COVID-19 under control.

"According to scientists, we should have reached the peak right now. This is broadly in line with forecasts," the outgoing minister said.

"If the lockdown is working, we should see some other dynamics at the end of the week, perhaps a decline. This week will be critical as it will show how the situation is changing," he added.

Lithuania's daily coronavirus count hit a new record high of 2,307 confirmed cases on Sunday. Another 1,192 new infections were reported on Monday.

A total of 48,226 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Lithuania since the start of the pandemic. The country currently has some 36,644 active cases and 11,032 recoveries.

The coronavirus death toll has reached 392 and 158 infected people have died of other causes.