The composition of the scientific council advising the government on the spread of coronavirus, set up in March 2020, will be renewed with the expiration of the contracts of the current members at the end of this year. The new team will start in early 2022.
“The current scientific council has been advising the government for almost two years, and the members have had to contribute more and longer than anyone could have imagined at the beginning of the pandemic last March. All of this has come at the expense of the main work of the members of the scientific council and I am very grateful to them all for their effort and commitment. The third coronavirus year is about to begin and it is understandable that being constantly at the forefront of the pandemic is tiring. That is why we have decided to give the current members of the scientific council a well-deserved break and allow them to focus on their main work. Science- and evidence-based decision-making is important for the government and therefore, the scientific council will continue in a new composition from the new year,” said Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
Toivo Maimets, Professor of Cell Biology, will lead the new composition of the scientific council. He is assembling his team in cooperation with the Government Office. The scientific council will continue to provide virological, immunological, and hospital expertise and views. The new composition of the scientific council will be approved early next year.
The members of the first scientific council included Irja Lutsar, Professor at the Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine at the University of Tartu, Krista Fischer, Professor of Mathematical Statistics at the University of Tartu, Andero Uusberg, Senior Research Fellow in Affective Psychology at the Institute of Psychology at the University of Tartu, Peep Talving, Chief Physician of the North Estonia Medical Centre and Professor of Surgical Diseases at the University of Tartu, Pilleriin Soodla, a doctor of infectious diseases at the Tartu University Hospital, and Andres Merits, Professor of Applied Virology at the University of Tartu.
The scientific council was convened on 20 March 2020 by the Government Emergency Committee. The council collects and analyses expert information and presents its views to the government. Based on the recommendations of the scientific council, measures of risk levels and their ranges have been agreed for each risk level, as well as guidelines to limit the spread of coronavirus in accordance with the risk level. The role of the scientific council is consultative, with the government deciding on the restrictions. The work of the scientific Council is coordinated by the Government Office.
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