As of Tuesday, the government announced a special period from August 18 to August 31, during which top athletes arriving from high-risk countries are exempt from the existing 14-day quarantine requirement if they comply with additional measures, including testing.

Starting September 1, testing will be made available as an alternative to self-isolation for everyone, not just top athletes.

The exemption will affect several events going forward, most notably WRC Rally Estonia, set to take place on September 4-6.

Commenting on Rally Estonia, Lukas said on August 14: "They (competitors and teams - ed.) will be exempt from a movement restriction if the give a negative COVID-19 test in their country of travel origin and in Estonia, when they land.

Some of the WRC drivers due to take part in Rally Estonia, including table leader Sebastien Ogier (France) come from countries whose travellers would normally need to self-quarantine for 14 days on arrival in Estonia. The three teams taking part this year, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, M-Sport Ford WRT and Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, are based in Germany, the U.K. and Finland respectively - all countries below the 16 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants threshold after which quarantining is mandatory.

The special measure would theoretically allow cyclists Tanel Kangert and Rein Taaramäe to participate at the Estonian championships this week, but according to Raivo Rand, President of the Estonian Cyclists Union (EJL), the pair will not take part in the Estonian championships because they are preparing for the Tour de France.

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