Scientific council recommends alcohol sales ban continues
The head of the government's scientific advisory council Professor Irja Lutsar believes the nighttime alcohol sales ban should stay in place as it has been useful for controlling the spread of coronavirus.
Speaking to ERR on Tuesday, Lutsar said now is not the time to change the restrictions and they seem to be working well.
"Recent outbreaks haven't come from nightclubs or parties with small numbers of people. And the fact that we have a few days of lower numbers [of new cases] doesn't mean anything is over," Lutsar said.
She said the infection rate among 15-24 year olds has fallen which the council has attributed to the sales ban but it still present among older people.
The professor of microbiology and virology did not say how long the restrictions should remain in place as it is difficult to predict what will happen in the coming months and around Christmas.
However, Lutsar, said she is worried about what is happening outside of Estonia as the infection rate is rising in Europe.
The reduction of the period of self-isolation from 14 days to 10 was also discussed, but the government did not make a decision. Last week it was agreed to extend the alcohol sales ban by a month until the end of November.
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Editor: Helen Wright
