Acting Minister of Education and Research Taavi Aas (Center) said: "There have been many infections especially among young people lately, which is why we decided to take high school classes of two counties to distance learning to limit the spread."

"The coming week will be a transition period so schools could make preparations. Still, we recommend everyone who has the possibility to go to distance learning earlier, to do so on Tuesday, November 24," Aas, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications, said.

The decision does not affect vocational schools offering secondary education, according to the education ministry. "The obligation does not affect vocational schools as most vocational studies demand contact activites, which now should certainly be conducted while following all necessary safety measures," the ministry's communications department announced.

The switch to distance learning must be completed in the period of November 24-27. Starting November 30, all high school classes in Harju County and Ida-Viru County must study remotely.

The regulation will be formalized by the Health Board and the education ministry on Monday, November 23 and the primary end date for distance learning will be set at January 10.

The Health Board and the ministry will send specific information to all Harju and Ida-Viru high schools in the beginning of the week.

On November 12, ERR News wrote that Narva City Government has moved general education and hobby schools to distance learning due to the rising rate of coronavirus in the city after a recommendation from the Health Board. As individual cases have been found in many schools in Harju County and Tallinn as well, some schools in the region have also gone to remote learning.

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