Travel opportunities are expanding from countries outside the European Union’s Green List, from which it will be possible to once again visit Estonia for purposes of tourism, sports, culture, etc. A vaccinated person who is not exhibiting symptoms may travel to Estonia if the necessary time has elapsed since vaccination to achieve maximum protection against COVID-19.
The government also raised the number of positive tests for third countries for SARS-CoV-2 from 16 to 75 per 100,000 inhabitants. This means that a person who is not exhibiting any signs of illness may travel to Estonia from third countries not included on the EU’s Green List without going into self-isolation if they are arriving from a country with an infection rate that is equal to or less than 75 per 100,000 inhabitants. These principles will enter into force on 21 June.
The easing of restrictions on the number of participants in events and activities are cross-sectoral, and impact sports, physical activities, youth work, hobby activities and education, in-service training and refresher training, public meetings and events, culture, church activities, entertainment services, saunas, spas, and swimming pools.
The current restrictions will continue to apply to shops and service points and to the indoor premises of catering establishments. This means that up to 50 per cent of the indoor space can be filled and dispersion must be taken into account when seating people.
From 28 June, the limits will be increased for public events and activities where safety from infection is ensured. In a single day up to 6000 people can then take part indoors and up to 12,000 people outdoors, provided that the person can prove their safety from infection.
According to the Health Board, transmission of the virus throughout Estonia remains widespread and the health care system is still under pressure. At the same time, due to the reduction in the number of infections, the pressure on the health care system is gradually decreasing, which has allowed the government to decide on the next step in the easing of restrictions. It is of critical importance to increase the number of vaccinated individuals, in order to better control the spread of the virus, especially among at-risk groups. Care should be taken with the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is more contagious than previous strains of the virus. COVID-19 vaccines also provide significant protection against this variant of the virus. Read more about the moderate risk level for the spread of coronavirus: https://www.kriis.ee/en/when-risk-level-moderate.
With the order approved today, the government formalised the decisions taken in principle at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Read more: https://valitsus.ee/en/news/government-allows-summer-events-have-more-participants
Last week, the government formed an opinion on the travel recommendations issued by the Council of the European Union: https://valitsus.ee/en/news/government-supported-updating-eu-council-recommendation-travel-restrictions-related-prevention
The Government Communication Unit publishes orders and explanatory notes on the website kriis.ee, with the order also being published in the Riigi Teataja.
