RIGA, Feb 3 (LETA) - Covid-19 patients currently occupy less than 50 percent of the designated beds at North Kurzeme Regional Hospital in Latvia's northwestern city of Ventspils, but many people are still being treated for the delta variant of the virus, which means their symptoms are more severe, the hospital's board chairman Juris Lacis said in an interview with Latvian Television on Thursday.

On the whole, the situation at North Kurzeme Hospital hospital is better than at Riga's hospitals and its capacity is sufficient. "The situation is not dramatic," the head of the hospital said. 

The absence of several dozen employees due to positive Covid-19 tests or contacts with infected persons has not had a serious effect on the hospital's operations, Lacis said. 

He indicated that in northwestern Latvia, particularly the city of Ventspils, the omicron strain accounts for just 40 percent of new Covid-19 cases, while the rest of Covid-19 patients are still diagnosed with the delta variant, which causes a more severe form of illness. 

The number of Covid-19 patients at the hospital tends to grow, which is why Lacis is concerns about authorities plans to start easing epidemiological restrictions. The head of the hospital agrees that it is necessary to think about arrangements that could be introduced once the omicron wave is over, but it would be too early to start lifting the restrictions already this month.