Health Board: Coronavirus cases rise to 575
As of Friday morning, 575 people have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) in total in Estonia, the Health Board said. 37 new cases were diagnosed between March 26-27 with the highest number of positive tests detected in Saaremaa.
Over the March 26-27 period, a total of 1,010 were carried out across Estonia. Of these, 37 gave positive diagnoses which is 4 percent.
Saaremaa had the highest reported amount of new cases with 14, Võru County had six, Pärnu County five, and Harju County - which includes Tallinn - also had five new cases.
A total of 8,121 coronavirus tests have been performed in Estonia since January 31.
As of Thursday evening, 40 patients are being treated in hospitals across Estonia after contracting the coronavirus. Seven patients are in intensive care and in critical condition. There have been 11 recoveries and one person has died.
Data analysis shows the infection rate by age group as:
- 30 - 39 years old: 18 percent
- 40 - 49 years old: 24 percent
- 50 - 59 years old: 23 percent
- 60 - 69 years old: 24 percent
Those with the highest risk of contracting the virus are people with underlying health conditions and the over 65s.
To protect at-risk groups, the Health Board has advised there should be no visits to nursing or care homes. Person-to-person should also be limited.
The Health Board has suspended planned treatment outside the national hospital network to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Private and dental clinics will only continue to provide emergency care. Scheduled treatment has stopped to prevent the spread of infection and save personal protective equipment.
On Thursday, March 26, the Health Board began publishing test results based on Health Information System (TIS) data. The Health Board was not previously able to use the health information system for this data, as using the TIS needed several laboratories to set up their testing capacity and private sector partners to get involved.
On Thursday, 134 new cases were announced, which was equal to two days testing. Therefore, it was expected the reported number of new cases would drop on Friday as it is only one day's test results.
However, the Health Board and hospitals are preparing for an increase in diagnoses and patients needing hospitalization in the coming weeks.
More information in English can be found on the Health Board's website.
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Editor: Helen Wright
