Following the announcement of quarantine in mid-March, state institutions raised various questions about how to effectively organize the work of institutions without interrupting the services normally provided to residents. In order to answer all the questions, the Ministry of the Interior organized remote conferences with all the representatives of the country's municipalities and provided consultations and answers related to the declared state of emergency in Lithuania.

‘During an emergency, we all had to adapt to a new situation and get used to working remotely. Self-government was not an exception, so the proposed amendments enabled all decisions important to the local community to be made on time,’ told Rita Tamašunienė, Minister of the Interior, when speaking about the meetings of municipal councils and commissions.

In order to ensure smooth work of both municipalities and other institutions, the Ministry of the Interior has also developed recommendations on how emergency services, work organization and public communication of institutions should be carried out.

The work of the Ministry of the Interior was also organized remotely during the quarantine. The Ministry has also issued three orders stating that, if possible, the work must be carried out remotely. Meanwhile, if this was impossible, all safety measures had to be provided. Those who had to physically work in the ministry were checked for symptoms of the virus, workers were provided with disinfectants, instructions on how to wash their hands properly, and so on.

Municipalities during quarantine: from virtual conferences to telephone conversations with residents
The Mayor of Jonava and the President of the Association of Local Authorities Mindaugas Sinkevičius noticed that they received various questions from all the municipalities on how to get protection means, how to ensure safe work of social workers, how to transfer the education system to distance learning, etc. Answers to these questions were sought through virtual conferences, often with the help of the Ministries of the Interior or Education.

The functions of local self-governments have been transferred to the electronic space relatively quickly and successfully in accordance with the recommendations of the Ministry of the Interior. Following the recommendations of the Ministry, employees tried to avoid excessive formality in accepting residents’ claims for benefits or other matters. However, there were also some challenges.

‘The employees adapted successfully, but although we tried to remotely meet the needs of the entire population, there was some dissatisfaction. The group of people, who turn to, for example, social support department, found it more difficult to adapt. These people are used to arrive in person, fill out all the requests on the spot, because sometimes it is difficult for them do it independently.

‘Therefore, when the local self-governments closed, there was dissatisfaction that the officials allegedly locked themselves in. Thus, there was some stress and adaptation challenges. But all professionals tried to make their best and that communication transformed soon into communication by phone or email, ‘ said M. Sinkevičius.

He added that organizing the activities of social workers was the biggest challenge.
‘Social workers cannot leave their ‘clients’ because there are people of all ages and social needs and they need help. Therefore, it is not a coincidence that we have provided social workers with various means of protection and that the state awarded one-time bonuses for their work, ‘ explained Sinkevičius.

Practices that will be applied also the future
The state-owned company Regitra is one of the successful examples of state institutions where customers were served through digital channels during quarantine. Deputy General Director of Regitra Saulius Šuminas said that people were willingly using electronic services during the quarantine period, so the company wants to maintain this in the future as well.

‘We are currently taking the opportunity to change the habits of our customers. For example, we want to provide more services through prior registration, ‘ said S. Šuminas.

Alternatives have been sought for these services that could not be moved to the virtual space. ‘We started registering new vehicles from manufacturers' representatives who already had signed contracts. But some services had to be suspended, as it was impossible to guarantee a safe distance of one meter, like for example a driving test. There were about 5 thousand drivers wanting to take a driving exam, ‘ recalled Šuminas.

To add, the rules were not so strict in some cases. For example, in case of an expired driving license or driving theory exam, the extension was offered.

Nowadays, the institutions have almost returned to normal work. All institutions are still required to comply with the decisions and recommendations of the Head of State Operations. When it is impossible to work remotely, it must be ensured that there is only one or maximum 2 people in one office, the distance must be maintained, and the premises should be often ventilated.

Information of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania