Coronavirus risk level rises to 'high'
Estonia's coronavirus risk level has risen from yellow ('medium') to orange ('high') at least with regard to infections. Daily hospitalization figures alone remain in the medium-zone.
The "orange"-level alert means face-masks must be worn in public indoor environments where infection safety checks are not conducted.
Under the "traffic-light" risk indicator system, a "high" level is attained when daily infection figures range between 600 to 1,000, over seven consecutive days spokespeople for the government said.
On average, 625.1 people have fallen ill in Estonia each day for the past seven days, BNS reports.
Estonia's hospitalization rate remains in the "yellow" zone, however. At present the number of people newly hospitalized due to the virus averages at 23.4 per day over the past seven days, whereas it needs to reach or exceed 30 per day to go into the "orange" zone.
High-risk also indicates spread of the virus outside localized outbreaks and a risk of a wide viral spread, while coronavirus regulations at orange risk-level are targeted at keeping the medical system going and heading off more severe restrictions.
As well as the face-mask requirement, at "orange" risk-level, social distancing must be in place, and disinfectants provided, while the public must continue to present coronavirus vaccination or negative test certification in, for instance, restaurants, cafes and bars.
Four other indicators used to set risk levels are coronavirus deaths over the past seven days, average daily infections in over sixties over the same time-frame, and number of coronavirus patients on ventilators over the past week, as well as vaccination coverage rates.
With deaths alone, Estonia is in the "low" zone, with an average of 2.57 over the past seven days, but with over-60s infection rates it is in the "medium" zone, with a figure of 87.9.
Seventeen people are reportedly on assisted breathing at present, which spells a "high" or "red" risk level on that indicator.
Overall vaccination coverage of the adult population is currently 62.55 percent.
More detailed information on what "high" or "orange"-level coronavirus risk means (in Estonian) is here.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
