Health Board: 37 new COVID-19 cases in past 24 hours
Thirty-seven new cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) have been diagnosed in Estonia over the last 24 hours, the Health Board (Terviseamet) announced on Tuesday. The new 14-day infection rate is 42.06 per 100,000, up from 41.08 the previous day.
Twenty-one of the 37 new cases came in Harju County, eight in Ida-Viru County, withTartu, Lääne-Viru and Valga counties receiving one new case each. Five new cases had no data in the population register to assign to them, which often means they were picked up by foreign nationals, the Health Board says.
No deaths were reported relating to COVID-19.
1,604 primary coronavirus tests were conducted, giving a positive rate of 2.30 percent.
Estonia's 14-day COVID-19 rate is now 42.06 per 100,000 inhabitants.
A total of 254,549 primary coronavirus tests have been conducted in Estonia since the end of January, with 4,465 of these (1.75 percent) returning positive.
Regional breakdown
The Health board is broken up into four regions, northern, southern, eastern and western. The northern and eastern regions have borne the brunt of infections.
Northern region
The Health Board is monitoring nearly 1,900 individuals, of whom 337 are currently sick.
Of the 21 Harju County cases, 13 were in Tallinn. One case was related to close family contact and four cases related to travel from the Russian Federation, Finland, Sweden and Ukraine. The origin of the remaining cases is currently unknown.
There are 10 outbreaks identified in the region:
- Six workplace outbreaks (totaling 42, 10, eight seven, six and five current cases respectively).
- One family outbreak related to five cases.
- Two school outbreaks, with six and five cases each.
- One outbreak relating to a party is linked to 17 cases.
Eastern region
The eastern region is monitoring 570 people, 117 of whom are sick.
Three of the new Ida-Viru County cases related to a close family contact infection, one was picked up at a kindergarten and one from the workplace. The origin of the remaining two cases is as yet unknown.
One case picked up in the far more sparsely populated Lääne-Viru County has been allocated to the northern district, since the individual's place of residence is registered in Harju County, the board says.
The region has 10 active outbreak focal points:
- A school in Kohtla-Järve (11 cases).
- A family and acquaintances circle (eight cases).
- A Jõhvi School (nine cases).
- Jõhvi day care center (21 cases).
- Two schools in Sillamäe (36 and eight cases respectively).
- Entertainment outlet (10 cases).
- Narva workplace (seven cases).
- Narva kindergarten (five cases).
- Narva-Jõesuu workplace (seven cases).
Southern region
The southern region is monitoring 300 individuals, of whom 46 are sick.
One new case in Valga County was ascribed to the northern district, since the population registry records the individual as resident in Harju County.
The new Tartu County case's origin is not known.
The southern region has one active outbreak, related to a Jõgeva County workplace, with 20 cases.
Western region
The Health Board's western region is monitoring 140 people, 27 of whom are sick.
35 people are currently in hospital due to the virus; three of these are on controlled breathing.
Hospitalizations, testing and recovery rates
As of Tuesday, 35 people were in hospital due to causes related to COVID-19, with three people on ventilators.
Two people have been sent home from hospital in the past 24 hours (one of these recorded retrospectively from an earlier period).
Seven new coronavirus hospital cases have been opened.
538 COVID-19 cases concerning 524 individuals have been wrapped up (some people have more than one case appended to them, hence the discrepancy).
3,561 people had recovered from the virus as of Tuesday, of whom 2,624 (73.7 percent) had had their case closed by a health professional, and the remaining 26.3 percent (937) of whom met the triple criteria of not having tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 28 days, not being hospitalized due to the virus and not awaiting their case to be wrapped up.
No deaths were reported in the past 24 hours. The last reported deaths, two of them, relating to the virus came on October 19.
For more data visit koroonakaart, which offers detailed data in Estonian, English and Russian.
Health Board: Let's remain vigilant
The spread of coronavirus has remained stable, but let's remain vigilant, the Health Board said in its daily update.
The spread has been stabilised thanks to the responsible, attentive, and careful behaviour of the people of Estonia.
The number of cases which have been brought in from abroad has decreased a touch in the past weeks, but still remains at around forty cases a week. While forty-four cases were brought in from abroad in the week before last, the same figure for last week was forty. Infected individuals arrived mainly from Russia and Ukraine, followed by the United Kingdom, Austria, Poland, and other European counties.
Üllar Lanno, director-general of the Health Board, said the people of Estonia and the healthcare sector have done a good job in fighting the virus, but its spread is gathering pace elsewhere in the world.
"We must keep in mind the longer perspective and the global view. As the spread of the virus is gathering pace in Europe, we must also remain vigilant," said Lanno, adding that people should only travel if it is unavoidable.
"Each case which is brought in from abroad can create several new cases in Estonia, so anyone who is returning from abroad should keep a close eye on their health."
Furthermore, those individuals who chose to spend the school holidays travelling within Estonia should also be careful, according to Lanno. "You can also catch COVID-19 when travelling around your home country."
How can the spread of coronavirus be stopped?
- The most efficient measure is keeping your distance.
- In crowded places and especially indoors where it is not possible to keep your distance from other people, it is advisable to wear a mask.
- Closed, crowded spaces should be avoided if possible.
- Hands must be washed frequently with soap and warm water.
- When you sneeze or cough, cover your mouth and nose with disposable tissue.
- Anyone who becomes ill should stay at home, even if their symptoms are mild.
- People who develop any symptoms should contact their family physician.
Download 'HOIA'
You can also download Estonia's coronavirus exposure notification app 'HOIA' which will alert you if you have been in close contact with someone who later tests positive for coronavirus.
The free app can be downloaded at the Google Play Store or App Store. Read ERR News' feature about the app here.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte