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The Riga City Council's temporary administration decided so today after consulting the law enforcement authorities.

The municipality calls on residents to respect its decision and not to plan new public events until the state of emergency is lifted.

The organizers of all rallies and marches planned for the March 16 Legionnaire Day have informed the Riga City Council that they were cancelling all these events.

Saeima member Janis Iesalnieks (National Alliance), a regular participant in March 16 events, said on Twitter that, to the risks posed by Covid-19, people would lay flowers at the Freedom Monument individually, without gathering in larger groups.

Riga City Council's representative Ugis Vidauskis explained to LETA that, even though the government had banned all public events, meetings, processions and pickets gathering more than 200 participants, it was difficult to control the actual number of people participating in a public event. "If an event is supposed to bring together a hundred participants, there may be more people there in the end as, for instance, passers-by may join in," said Vidauskis.