Popov: Hospitals ready for third Covid wave
The number of COVID-19 cases is growing again. Head of the West Tallinn Central Hospital Arkadi Popov says that hospitals are ready for the third wave.
A vaccination bus drew long queues in Tallinn's Mustamäe district on Saturday afternoon. One queue was for those who had not registered for vaccination, while the other was made up of people who had booked a shot, "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported.
Volunteers working in the bus said they are often asked about the type of vaccine used. People also said the decided to get vaccinated after talking to their family doctor.
Estonia analyzed 3,550 tests of which 249 came back positive on Saturday.
"The infection rate is up in all counties. Pärnu, Tartu and Võru counties are seeing the most new cases today. However, statistics suggests cases were up in all counties, except Hiiumaa," Juta Varjas, chief specialist with the Health Board, explained.
People pick up the virus when traveling or attending events and gatherings. A lot of young people who tend to get around more are diagnosed.
"The Delta strain has become dominant in Estonia. While the strain spreads considerably faster than the Alpha variant, vaccines used in Estonia remain effective against it," Varjas said.
Seven people were hospitalized on Saturday, with most patients over the age of 60.
Head of the West Tallinn Central Hospital (LTKH) Arkadi Popov said that hospitals stand ready for the third coronavirus wave. Popov said that so far, a smaller percentage of people diagnosed have ended up in the hospital than during the spring wave.
"The average age of patients who need to be hospitalized started growing. Unfortunately, we expect hospitalizations to grow next week. Hospitals stand ready to receive COVID-19 patients in communicable diseases wards," Popov said.
Of the people diagnosed on Saturday, 80 percent were not vaccinated, while 58 percent of the population has not been inoculated. Popov said that vaccines protect from developing a serious case of COVID-19 more than being infected.
"I only know of one vaccinated person being hospitalized, with COVID-19 their main health problem. The person is very old and in stable conditions," Popov said.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski