Latvia unveils large statue honouring Covid-19 healthcare workers around world

Monument shows female medical professional in face mask and gloves with outstretched arms

A large statue has been unveiled in Latvia‘s capital to honour healthcare workers battling the coronavirus pandemic on the front lines. The 20-ft monument of a person wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and a stethoscope around their neck was revealed in Riga earlier this week.

The statue looks up towards the sky with outstretched arms. The figure of a female medical worker in a white coat, face mask and gloves was unveiled outside the Latvian National Art Museum in the capital on Tuesday, according to the Arts Academy of Latvia.

Sculptor Aigars Bikse, one of their professors, created the art work.

The statue “is dedicated to medics in Latvia and around the world, praising their selfless courage and care during the Covid-19 outbreak”, the European League of Institutes of the Arts said.

“The three-month long lockdown period and fear for their lives has made the people change their perspective towards doctors, nurses and other medical staff,” Mr Bikse said, according to a Latvian broadcaster.“Many just now for the first time in their lives realised the vital importance of medical staff,” he said, LSM.lv reported.

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