Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise believes that time restrictions on events held in public indoor spaces, which are based on last year's epidemiological situation, are not strictly necessary for slowing the spread of infection with the COVID-19 virus in order to ensure hospitals' capacity to function. Alternative measures should be considered as well.
A timetable for lifting coronavirus restrictions has been agreed by the coalition, it was announced on Thursday. Some rules will be relaxed from Monday.
The Riigikogu doesn't have the option to directly intervene in establishing coronavirus restrictions, Speaker of the Riigikogu and Center Party chair Jüri Ratas says.
Since the number of hospital patients has been increasing and people needing hospital care are mainly patients belonging to risk groups, coronavirus restrictions need to be stricter, Tartu University s head of crisis committee, Doctor Joel Starkopf, told Vikerraadio Thursday morning.
Starkopf explained that every sixth patient on active treatment has a COVID-19 positive diagnosis. As of today, most South Estonian hospitals have at least some COVID-19 positives, starting from Viljandi hospital and finishing with Tartu University clinic, Starkopf said.
He added that deepening the restrictions is therefore inevitable. Starkopf highlighted that in the hospitals, over 70 percent of the patients are over 40, while 40 percent are aged over 80.