HELSINKI — Latvia has extended the state of emergency due to COVID-19 until Jan. 11 and has announced further restrictions to contain the spread of the pandemic in the small Baltic nation.

Latvia’s government announced late Tuesday that, effective Thursday, everyone in the country must follow the 2+2 principle in their daily public routine: observing a distance of two meters (6.6 feet) from others and limiting meetings to two people.

During the state of emergency, sales of alcohol and tobacco in Latvia will be prohibited at shops during the weekends and public holidays. Also, effective on Saturday, only grocery stores and pharmacies will be allowed to operate on weekends and holidays to sell food, drugs and other basic necessities.

Latvia, a nation of nearly 2 million, has seen its coronavirus outbreak worsen in the past few weeks.

The country on Wednesday reported 690 confirmed new cases and 14 deaths in the past 24 hours., for an overall toll of 224 virus-related deaths.