Estonia's new 14-day coronavirus rate per 100,000 inhabitants is 551.55, with the proportion of positive tests returned over that period standing at 12.3 percent.

3,454 primary coronavirus tests were administered in Estonia, with 342, or 9.9 percent, returning positive during that time.

The bulk of the new cases came in Harju County, where 188 individuals were diagnosed with COVID-19 (143 of them in Tallinn).

Ida-Viru County saw 60 new cases, Tartu County 19, Pärnu County 18 and Järva County 12.

Eight new cases were posted in Võru County, seven in Valga County, six in Lääne-Viru County, five each in Lääne and Rapla counties and two in Viljandi County.

One new coronavirus case was found on Hiiumaa, Saaremaa and Põlva County, meaning 14 of Estonia's 15 counties saw new coronavirus cases reported in the past 24 hours.

An additional nine cases came with individuals who had no place of residence recorded under their name in the population registry, the primary source the Health Board uses in compiling its statistics.

Three people died over the past 24 hours, from causes related to COVID-19.

As of Sunday morning, 401 people were hospitalized.

Health Board monitoring over 23,000 people

The Health Board is divided up into four regions, together monitoring over 23,000 people due to COVID-19, with the bulk of the burden falling on the northern and eastern regions.

The northern region is monitoring 14,800 people, of whom 4,128 have fallen sick with COVID-19.

The board's eastern region is following 4,500 people; 1,467 of these are infected.

The southern region is monitoring 2,600 people, of whom 931 are sick – some of the southern region's figures have cross-over with all of the other three regions – and the for the western region, the figures are 1,300 and 427 respectively.

Hospitalizations, testing, recovery rates

As of Sunday, January 3, 401 people who have contracted COVID-19 are in hospital, with 43 of these in intensive care (27 on ventilators) the board says.

Twenty-one new coronavirus case files have been opened in the past 24 hours, five people have been sent home, four individuals have been transferred to a non-coronavirus ward and three people have been moved to another hospital.

Three people died in the past 24 hours from causes relating to the virus, an 84-year-old man, a 91-year-old woman and a 95-year-old-man, the Health Board says. This brings the total number of coronavirus-related deaths to 244 since the pandemic began.

Hospitals have wrapped up 1,545 coronavirus case files in 1,519 people (some individuals have more than one file associated with them, hence the discrepancy).

As of January 3, 19,323 people have recovered from COVID-19 in Estonia. Of these, 14,451 (74.8 percent) have had their case file terminated by a health-care professional, while the remaining 25.2 percent (4,872 people) meet 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 termination of a coronavirus case file.

Since the pandemic began, 642,595 primary coronavirus tests have been conducted in Estonia, with 29,131 of these having returned positive (4.5 percent of the total), the board says.

More detailed information is available on the Koroonakaart website here.

Vaccinations

As of January 3, 2,517 people in Estonia have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The first consignment of vaccinations arrived in Estonia on December 26 and inoculations began the very next day.

By the beginning of the new week at the latest, the Health Board's information system, TEHIK, will also be displaying detailed vaccination information as open data on their coronavirus map.

Individuals can view their own vaccination information on the Patient Portal.

The aim of COVID-19 vaccination is to protect at-risk groups who are more likely to become infected, or whose illness may be more severe, to prevent and reduce COVID-19-related illness and deaths, to reduce the burden on the health system and the economy, and to ensure the normal functioning of society.

Vaccinations will be administered as a matter of priority to health-care professionals, care home staff and residents, and people over the age of 70, as well as those with certain diagnoses who may see a more severe course of COVID-19 due to their health situation.

As soon as a sufficient quantity of COVID-19 vaccines arrives in Estonia, vaccination will be made available to other target groups, and ultimately the entire population, the board says.

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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