Prime minister: We cannot restore rapid tests today
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said that the government is proceeding based on COVID-19 scientific advisory body recommendations and that a negative rapid test result will not be restored on par with Covid certificates any time soon.
"The scientific council carried out a very thorough analysis and made solid points. Their recommendation, endorsed by the Health Board, was that rapid tests should not be restored at this time," Kallas said in front of the Riigikogu on Tuesday.
The PM said that Estonia is experiencing a tidal wave of infection. "We have not reached the peak yet. We still have unvaccinated people in hospitals, with over 80 percent of people hospitalized with severe COVID-19 unvaccinated," Kallas said.
"A rapid test cannot protect people from infection. It simply shows whether someone is presently carrying the virus. But severe Covid tends to hit unvaccinated people. Following in the footsteps of the previous government, this cabinet wants to base its decisions on knowledge and scientific data," Kallas said.
The premiere added that her personal feeling is to trust scientists and set about gradually lifting restrictions once the wave of infection starts to recede.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
