Latvia currently has one of the worst Covid situations in the world. On average there are over 1700 new cases reported each day. On top of this the country has one of the lowest vaccination rates in EU. There are reports coming out of the country like this, showing the seriousness of the situation.

https//www.reuters.com/world/europe/vaccine-wary-latvia-bodies-pile-up-hospital-morgue-2021-11-09/

All of this has resulted in an environment that is simply not safe enough to return to, health wise. We as students of the university, respectfully ask the leadership of LU to answer these questions; Is it truly responsible to call thousands of international students to return to the country in one week ? Is this a decision that has taken into account the health and safety of students and staff ? Majority of students haven't even received a booster vaccine, yet they are expected to return to a country that is in this state ? Is this truly necessary, when there is the possibility of continuing online teaching for longer, so that the situation in the country is truly better before calling everyone to return ?

Majority of international students in the 3 major universities in Riga (LU, RSU and RTU) have returned to their home countries ever since online teaching began. This is thousands of students that are currently all over the world, across different continents. Each country has a different situation, some worse than others. A lot these countries have new variants of covid. Asking them to return to in-person teaching in one week has the capacity to cause a massive surge in cases, just like it did in beginning of October when RSU students returned. It puts everyone in the country, the students, the staff and the hospitals in the city at risk. The decision of the university to return to in-person teaching in this current climate and this soon, is extremely irresponsible and detrimental for all parties involved.

The week studies will continue in-person, thousands of students will fly to Riga from all over the world. The number of new cases will inevitably go up dramatically, which will leave us in the same position as before lockdown; overwhelmed hospitals, hundreds of deaths and a major toll on the country. The university has shown last year that online teaching for longer durations is definitely possible in these unprecedented times. According to a survey, majority of students would prefer to continue online until it's safe as well. 

We as students simply ask the university to prioritize the health of it's students and the health of the country as a whole and reverse their decision to return to in-person teaching this soon.