“We have seen many times how insidious and consistent this virus is. Therefore, we must be sure that the time is right for any easing of COVID-19 restrictions,” said Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. “The scientific council recommended that the obligation to wear a mask could be dropped when the risk level for the spread of the coronavirus falls to the medium or yellow level. Today, we adopted this decision in principle with the government. It is likely that the risk level will fall to the yellow level as early as next week. The recommendation to wear a mask in crowded indoor spaces and on public transport, especially for people at risk, will remain in force. In the meantime, I urge everyone to be careful, wear a mask, and get vaccinated. The coronavirus has not disappeared and is still contagious.”
According to the Minister of Health and Labour Tanel Kiik, the downward trend of the virus continues, which allows to ease the restrictions. “The spread of the coronavirus and the burden on hospitals are on a clear downward trend. The easing of the restrictions in February and March has not led to an increase in the spread of the virus, so we can move on to the next steps. I think it is sensible to replace the requirement to wear a mask indoors with a recommendation to do so. People must still make sure that they are not infected and get vaccinated on time.
Disinfection requirements and dispersion rules will also be replaced with a recommendation when the risk level for the spread of the coronavirus has fallen to the medium level.
Today, the risk level for the spread of coronavirus in Estonia is high, which corresponds to the colour orange in the risk matrix. As at this morning, the average number of infections in the last seven days was 1,139.4 and the average number of new people in need of hospital treatment for COVID-19 in the last seven days was 32.3. To reach the yellow risk level, the average number of infections must be less than 1,500 and the number of new people in need of hospital treatment must be less than 30.
As at the morning of 31 March, there are 306 patients infected with the coronavirus in hospitals, 145 of whom require hospital treatment for severe COVID-19. During the day, 37 new cases were opened in hospitals, of which 16 required hospitalisation for COVID-19. Yesterday, eight people infected with the coronavirus died.
