Coronavirus round-up: December 7-13

Last week more than 3,000 cases of coronavirus in total were diagnosed for the first time. There were 20 deaths.
ERR News has rounded up the most important news and data about the coronavirus in Estonia from the last week and put it in one place.
This round-up is released every Monday, because the results for Sunday of the previous week are released on Monday morning, only making it possible to analyze the previous week's results after the data has been reported.
You can find the following graphs below:
- The total number of new cases diagnosed by week;
- New cases by day for December 7-13;
- New cases by county by week;
- New cases compared with deaths and hospital releases;
- Total number of positive and negative tests by week;
- Deaths by age group;
The data has been taken from the Health Board and we downloaded it from Koroonakaart which publishes data every day in English, Russian and Estonian.
Our "Coronavirus in Estonia: All You Need to Know" guide also provides an overview of total cases by county, the daily rate of new cases, and includes a breakdown of all the restrictions so far. We update this page daily.
In the graphs below, you can add or take away data from the graphs by clicking on the colored dots below. The data points are (mostly) dated with each Monday's date.
Overview
New cases by week: In total, 3,162 new cases of coronavirus were diagnosed in Estonia last week compared to 2,922 the week before. While the increase in new cases is quite small, it shows the infection rate is still rising in Estonia. The majority of the new cases were diagnosed in Harju, Ida-Viru and Tartu counties.
Twenty people died, an increase from 15 the week before.
The 14-day infection rate is 457.72 per 100,000 inhabitants compared to 396.62 on Monday of the week before. While Estonia has the lowest coronavirus infection rate in the Baltics, it has already overtaken bigger countries such as Spain, France and the UK.
Last week, the government introduced new restrictions to limit the spread of the virus, closing the majority of shops, schools and institutions in Ida-Viru County and requiring less strict measures across the rest of the country.
On Saturday, a new record was set for the highest number of cases on a single day when the Health Board announced that 760 had been diagnosed in the previous 24 hours. This was due to a backlog in the lab.
Researchers are forecasting that there will be 350 coronavirus patients in hospital by Christmas - in a best-case scenario. This is almost at the limit of how many patients Estonia can treat in hospital.
The Health Board is monitoring more than 27,000 people but is no longer published information about outbreaks so it is not possible to provide any more information about why outbreaks are increasing in each county.
New cases by day December 7-13: Three days last week recorded more than 500 new cases, three days more than 300 and one day more than 200 - a new record for more than 700 cases in one day was also set.
There was also at least one death per day.
New cases by county: There were new cases reported in every county last week, you can see exactly how many and where on the map below. The majority of the new cases were diagnosed in Harju, Ida-Viru and Tartu counties.
Cases rose in Harju County but fell or plateaued in Tartu and Ida-Viru County.
Harju County's cases rose from 1,455 to 1,775 - almost 300 additional cases.
Tartu County's fell from 272 to 198 which is the first fall in cases since the middle of October.
Ida-Viru's County's number of cases did not increase but stayed roughly the same at 706 compared to 736 the previous week. Cases have been rising every week in the county since the middle of October.
Pärnu County's cases almost doubled from 44 to 84 and Võru County's saw a smaller increase from 54 to 68. Saare County's cases fell from 20 to 14.
You can add or take away data from the graph by clicking on the colored dots at the bottom. The six counties included on the graph have the highest numbers of cases.
Hospital releases: 112 people were released from hospital last week, almost the same as the week before.
Positive and negative tests by week: The level of testing has remained the same over the past month, with more than 30,000 tests being carried out every week.
Last week 34,192 tests were carried out with 3,162 being positive and 31,030 negative. Last week on several days the share of positive tests in the total exceeded 10 percent, which is the highest since the emergency situation in spring.
The significant rise in tests over the past three weeks is because the Health Board now reports all tests analyzed on a single day rather instead of only primary tests.
Deaths
Deaths by week: There were 20 deaths last week, increasing from 15 the week before. The total is now 154.
Deaths by age and gender: Eleven women and nine men died and the majority of people were in their 80s or 90s.
The sex and age of people who died on each day is listed below and the information below was listed by the Health Board and can be found here:
December 7: 66 year-old woman, an 87 year-old man, and an 89 year-old man.
December 8: 63 year-old woman and an 81 year-old woman.
December 9: 79 year-old man and a 94 year-old woman.
December 10: 90 year-old woman.
December 11: 89 year-old woman, an 83 year-old man, a 78 year-old man, a 75 year-old man, a 74 year-old woman, and a 68 year-old woman.
December 12: 90 year-old woman.
December 13: 65 year-old man, a 74 year-old man, a 76 year-old woman, an 85 year-old man, and an 87 year-old woman.
The below statistics are from koroonakaart and are not up to date. We will try and find and publish the correct data next week.
Coronavirus highlights December 7-13:
- Government approves nationwide, Ida-Viru County restrictions
- Hospital chief: Healthcare on brink of crisis, hinges on public's behavior
- Researcher: 350 covid hospital patients at Christmas is positive scenario
- Coronavirus map: Estonia's infection rate surpasses UK, France and Germany
- Telia: People in Estonia more mobile than during spring coronavirus wave
- Survey: Ida-Viru County residents' COVID-19 awareness highest in Estonia
- More introduced COVID-19 cases from Russia than any other country
- Ministry: Foreign student numbers fall slightly in pandemic year
- All travelers must quarantine on arrival to Estonia from December 14
"Let's keep Estonia open!"
The Health Board launched a new campaign called "Let's keep Estonia open!" ("Hoiame Eesti elu avatud!") this week, which calls for the people of Estonia to follow five basic principles:
- Stay at home if you have fallen ill;
- Stay at least two meters away from other people;
- Wear a mask in crowded places;
- Wash your hands diligently;
- Download the HOIA app onto your smartphone;
- Get your information from reliable sources, such as kriis.ee, the Health Board or contact the free 1247 helpline.
The spread of coronavirus in Estonia is extensive and rapid, which means that it is possible to get infected anywhere you may come in to contact with others.
If possible, choose electronic channels and online services for running your errands. Run as many of your errands as possible via electronic channels which will allow you to avoid unnecessary contact with others and reduce the risk of your being infected.
If you experience any symptoms, please stay at home.
Download 'HOIA'
Estonia's coronavirus exposure notification app 'HOIA' 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.
Note to readers
Feedback is welcome, as are suggestions for data we can show or stories we can tell. Email: helen.wright@err.ee
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Editor: Helen Wright