According to the Health Board, the holiday period is to blame for the high number of new cases diagnosed on Thursday (1,104 - ed.).

"The restrictions that have been established nationewide and also Ida-Viru and Harju counties, it seems as if not all people followed the rules and different gatherings have still been organized, as a result of which the virus could spread," Dontšenko said.

The situation in Tallinn and Harju County, with 713 new cases as of Thursday, is still a point of concern, according to Dontšenko. A rise in infections is also visible in other parts of Estonia however, except for Ida-Viru County.

"Ida-Viru County gives us happy signs of stabilizing, but there are counties where a rise in infections has been spotted. These are counties in central and southern Estonia," the Health Board official said.

The largest part of infected people is made up of working aged people and people aged 65 and up. Care homes brought close to 10 percent of all diagnosed new infections on Thursday, school-aged children make up some 5 percent of total cases.

Minister of Social Affairs Tanel Kiik (Center) said restrictions established on hobby education and contact classes last year have helped stabilize the infection numbers over the last week.

"While we feared an increase, we saw that the infection indicator was in a slight growth trend before the holidays. We can say now that with the different restrictions set on hobby education, sports, later to study in schools have given an effect," Kiik said.

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