Thursday, 4 March 2021

Estonia struggles with the coronavirus

It's extremely disappointing to see the latest figures regarding the coronavirus in Estonia.  The daily infection rate is the second highest in Europe and even higher than in the US or UK at its worst during the pandemic. The UK's sharp drop coincides with a very strict lockdown (which is still ongoing) and a very good vaccine rollout. Israel has vaccinated almost its entire population. Last week Estonia ran out of vaccine and people are still walking around without masks. This should be compulsory. 

New daily coronavirus cases per million.

In Germany, the situation is quite different. Although the vaccination process has been slow, there has been a decline in the rate of new infections due to the wide use of masks. The country has been in lockdown since mid December and it is compulsory to wear FFP2 masks on all public transport, in shops and any enclosed areas. Fines apply for non-compliance. Cinemas have bene closed for months and restaurants are only permitted to sell take-away.

Clearly not enough has been done to combat the coronavirus in Estonia. With over 1000 new cases each day, Estonia is slowly losing its citizens. As of today, 623 people have died of the coronavirus in Estonia. Today the Estonian government released a list of new measures coming into effect on March 6 but still it's not enough. People can still visit eateries and obviously they won't be wearing a mask when they sit down to eat in public. Therefore it's likely the virus will continue to spread. Estonia has a small population and it must be protected at all costs. Wearing a mask is essential, not only to protect yourself but others.  The sooner people adhere to this, the sooner the infection rate is likely to fall.

Details of the new restrictions can be found here: New coronavirus restrictions starting on March