Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallas announced the government’s decision to introduce a strict quarantine regime in the country from March 11 due to the spread of the British strain of coronavirus, Interfax reports.
She assessed the situation with epidemiological indicators for new cases of infection as critical. According to the prime minister, the British mutation is currently recorded in 98 percent of the analyzed tests, which is why doctors advised the authorities to introduce a lockdown for at least one month. “This is all in order to reduce the number of contacts and break the chains of infections,” Callas said.
So, starting March 11, all educational institutions in the republic will switch to distance learning, all shops that do not sell essential goods will be closed, cafes and restaurants will completely stop working, and the movement of citizens on the streets will be limited.
According to the latest data, more than 76 thousand people have been infected with the coronavirus in Estonia since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 650 patients have become victims of the infection. In the period from March 1 to March 7, about 9.4 thousand new cases of COVID-19 were detected in the country.
Earlier, the Mayor of Tallinn, Mikhail Kylvart, advocated the emergency use of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in the country, if its effectiveness is confirmed by local experts. He believes that due to new outbreaks of coronavirus, the republic cannot hesitate with vaccination, and therefore it should not be guided by the opinion of the regulatory bodies of the European Union (EU) in this matter.