"The light festival is a popular and much-awaited yearly event; spectators at the festival numbered around 20,000 last year. Unfortunately, with such large crowds we won't be able to ensure the safe dispersion of people at the event, during their journey to Kadriorg by public transport or back home afterwards," deputy mayor of Tallinn Kalle Klandorf was quoted by spokespeople as saying.

Klandorf noted that having employees of the city assess people's health condition or take their temperature in the street is not feasible, which is why city officials have decided to cancel the festival.

The city government has currently not cancelled all public events organized by the city but it only green-lights events at which a safe and contactless distance between people can be guaranteed and which do not increase the number of passengers on public transport.

COVID-19 cases currently number 178 in Tallinn and Harju County, most of them in the capital city, according to data by the Health Board.

In order to curb the growing threat of the coronavirus, Tallinn schools began dispersing students and partially switching to distance learning where needed from Monday. 

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