On April 27 Lithuania celebrates Medical Workers’ Day. For the 10 year in a row, a solemn ceremony had to take place at Kaunas City Hall, in which medics who had won the most sympathy from patients and colleagues would be awarded and honored. Quarantine, however, has forced a change in the established tradition. This year, all the medics, without exception, received gratitude, but the gesture of respect were conveyed in a different form – with virtual applause from Kaunas city government and all Kaunas residents, who fell into the video.

“Dear medical staff, today is your day and the whole Kaunas, the whole team of Kaunas City Municipality tells you a sincere, insanely big “THANK YOU” for your hard, dangerous, risky work these days and for taking care of the citizens”, in a video dedicated to the medics and published on Monday said Kaunas City Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis.

On the Kaunas City Municipality Facebook account there is a video with over one and a half hundred people who applauded heartily. In this way, well-known public figures, city leaders and municipal employees expressed their gratitude to the doctors not only of our city but also of the whole Lithuania.

“Recently, applause has acquired special significance all around the world. It is a symbol of gratitude and respect for the people who protect, save and sacrifice for each of us. It is medics and other staff. We appreciate this and for now, at least in this way, we want to show that they are really important and extremely necessary for us”, said Kaunas Deputy Mayor Rasa Šnapštienė.

According to her, doctors, nurses and other medical staff are special people who have chosen this profession and take great responsibility for the invaluable human assets – health and life – year after year.

The festive greetings from social networks will be moved to the internal networks of medical institutions operating in Kaunas. Although the informational screens in the hospitals do not work during quarantine, the greeting message will reach the screens of the medical staff’s work equipment.

Rentata Kudukytė-Gasperė, Head of the Division of Health Protection of Kaunas City Municipality, invites all Kaunas all Kaunas residents to contribute to the global initiative and award exceptional attention to the medical staff in their environment: “We are constantly grateful to doctors, but this day is dedicated to symbolically marking the importance of their profession. Almost everyone around us has kinship with doctors, so today we will give them the opportunity to feel festive, at least for a short time – by a phone call, a remote word of thanks or at least symbolic applause.”

According to the representatives of Kaunas City Municipality, the ongoing quarantine in the country has only adjusted, but will not force anyone to give up the annual tradition. The 10 anniversary celebration of the medics, which was to take place this year, wo;; undoubtedly be held in April 2021.

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