"The burden on hospitals continues to be very high, although the numbers of people needing hospital treatment are on a downward trend. The number of alerts to the emergency response center concerning coronavirus patients is on a downward trend. The average age of the people who need hospital treatment is 68," Harma said.

She said that the number of cases where coronavirus has been brought into Estonia has grown and the biggest numbers of such cases are to do with holiday trips to Egypt and Turkey. While the majority of cases are British strain of the virus, the South African strain has been found which must not be allowed to spread.

"Those who travel must be aware of their responsibility towards other people," Harma said.

Minister of Health and Labor Tanel Kiik (Center) said coronavirus statistics have become better, and that this is a result of people observing valid restrictions. 

"Therefore we decided in the government on Tuesday not to relax the restrictions yet, in order to not contribute to an increase in the spread of the virus. We cannot make premature decisions, because then we would have to reverse them after a couple of weeks," Kiik said.

Kiik said the government was not about to make a U-turn as far as restrictions go. 

The minister observed that even though the burden on hospitals is declining, it continues to be on a very high level. 

Estonia is progressive with vaccinations at a rate of 30,000-40,000 inoculations per week and in the EU, Estonia ranks among the first in terms of speed and coverage of vaccination.

"In the organization of vaccinations there must be a clear message. A person must know when they can go and where they will get their dose of vaccine. Work has to be done with those who still hesitate. The bigger is the number of those vaccinated, the firmer protection we have against new waves," Kiik added. 

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