COVID-19 blog, 10 November: 128 new positive test results have been added in the past 24 hours

The last 24 hours have seen a total of 2,553 initial tests being analysed in Estonia in relation to the SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19, of which 128 (5.0%) were positive.

Based on the data in the population register, the highest number of new positive test results came from Harju County, where ninety-one further individuals were found to have been infected. Ten new positive coronavirus test results were added from Ida-Viru County, and eight new cases from Tartu County. Two new cases each were added from Rapla County and Viljandi County, and a further one case each from Hiiu County, Järva County, Lääne County, Lääne-Viru County, Pärnu County, Põlva County, and Valga County. On eight occasions, the places of residence of those individuals who tested positive were not specified in the population register.

The number of cases for every 100,000 people in the last fourteen days is 143.8, and 6.7% of all tests have been found to be positive.

Seventy-two of the ninety-one new cases from Harju County were from Tallinn. Four of those new cases which were added from within the area of operations of the Health Board’s northern regional department were close contacts of individuals who had already fallen ill. On three occasions, the virus was brought in from Denmark and Cyprus. The origins of the infection have remained unknown on two occasions. The circumstances surrounding the remaining cases are still being investigated.

Further information about those cases which were added on 9 November show that forty-nine of them were close contacts of individuals who had already fallen ill. On seven occasions, the virus was brought in from Russia, England, Cyprus, Germany, Lithuania, Switzerland, and Belgium. On a further four occasions, the origins of the infection have remained unknown. The circumstances surrounding the remaining thirty-eight cases are still being investigated.

The Health Board’s northern regional department is monitoring almost 9,000 people, of whom 1,054 have fallen ill. There are twenty-four different outbreaks in total within the northern regional department’s area of operations. There are four school outbreaks which include twenty-three individuals in total, one kindergarten outbreak which includes five cases, seven workplace outbreaks which involve a total of 116 individuals, three event outbreaks which include twenty-eight individuals, and a further six outbreaks which are connected to other contacts and which include forty-nine individuals in total. In addition to those listed above, there are also the Rapla Care Centre outbreaks which include sixty-five individuals, a hospital outbreak which includes eighteen individuals, and the Tallinn Prison outbreak with more than ten individuals.

Three further positive cases were added to the Viru Prison outbreak within the past 24 hours. Based on data in the population register, one of those individuals is from Lääne-Viru County, another is from Ida-Viru County, and one further case was handed over to the Health Board’s northern regional department (as it involves an individual whose place of residence is in Harju County).

Three of the new cases which were added from Ida-Viru County within the past 24 hours were infected within the family circle, two further individuals caught the virus via their acquaintances, two in a hobby group, one in the workplace, one at a sports training session, and one at school.

There are ten active outbreaks in total within the eastern regional department’s area of operations. The first school outbreak in Sillamäe involves thirty-eight individuals, a second Sillamäe school outbreak nine individuals, the Jõhvi care home outbreak twenty-one individuals, and a Narva kindergarten outbreak seven individuals. Ten cases are connected to the Narva-Jõesuu workplace outbreak, and 206 cases to the Viru Prison outbreak. A Kohtla-Järve school outbreak includes six cases, a Sillamäe workplace outbreak seven cases, and a Narva sports-related outbreak thirty-nine cases. A new Narva workplace outbreak involves seven individuals.

The Health Board’s eastern regional department is monitoring almost 3,000 people, of whom 460 have fallen ill.

One of the new cases from Tartu County was infected via a family-related contact and one further individual via a work-related contact. The circumstances surrounding two of the new cases from Tartu County have been identified, while the remaining cases are still being investigated. Regarding the new cases from Viljandi County and Põlva County, the origins of the infection have remained unknown. The circumstances surrounding the new case from Valga County are still being investigated. The southern regional department is monitoring over 900 people, of whom 169 have fallen ill (the number of those who have fallen ill also includes individuals who are being monitored by the Health Board’s northern regional department). As part of those efforts, the southern regional department is also monitoring one outbreak which occurred at a care home and involves thirty-four individuals.

The new cases from Hiiu County, Lääne County, and Pärnu County were infected via work-related contacts.

The western regional department is monitoring over 650 people, of whom ninety-eight have fallen ill. The western regional department is also monitoring three active outbreaks in Hiiu County which include a family event outbreak that involves thirteen cases, an outbreak which is also connected to an event and involves seven cases, and a family outbreak which involves six cases.

Sixty-three patients are being treated in hospital

As of the morning of 10 November, a total of sixty-three COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospital, with five patients on a ventilator. Five new patients were discharged from hospital and nine new cases were opened in total. One individual was transferred to a non-COVID-19 department. No new deaths were added within the past 24 hours. Coronavirus has claimed the lives of seventy-six people in Estonia in total.

As of today, 10 November, hospitals have closed a total of 586 cases relating to COVID-19 which involved 571 people.

Also as of 10 November, a total of 4,219 people have recovered from COVID-19. The cases of 3,047 people have been closed (72.2% of the total) and, in the case of 1,172 people (27.8%), more than twenty-eight days have passed since they tested positive and the individuals concerned are not being treated in hospital, meaning that they are awaiting confirmation of their recovery.

Almost 283,000 initial tests have been analysed in Estonia, of which 6,376 or 2.2% of the total have been positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Detailed statistical data from the coronavirus tests is available at: www.terviseamet.ee/en/coronavirus-dataset.

The spread of coronavirus in Estonia is increasing every day

The virus is spreading consistently within Estonia. The share of cases is also increasing for which the origin of the infection remains unknown. The spread of the virus in Harju County and Tallinn is of especial concern.

Get tested as soon as possible! Please contact your family physician or call 1220 even if you only develop mild symptoms.

We encourage all employers to enable their employees to work remotely in order to reduce the potential number of close contact instances in workplaces. It is essential to limit the work-related spread of the virus.

Get your information from reliable sources. We would like to request that people follow the government’s official information channels and only spread information which has been confirmed by those channels. Further information is available on the following websites: www.kriis.ee and www.terviseamet.ee/en. Information can also be obtained by calling 1247.

Download the HOIA app

Download the HOIA mobile app from Google Play or App Store which will inform you if you have come into close contact with an individual who has coronavirus. The app also allows you to anonymously notify other users if you have fallen ill yourself. Codes are being exchanged anonymously between the phones of people who use the app, while the government, the app’s developer, and the manufacturer of your phone will not be notified of those with whom you have come into close contact. Further information is available here: www.hoia.me.

COVID-19 is a droplet infection which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreading from one person to another as a result of sneezing and coughing or via contaminated surfaces and unwashed hands.

According to information from the Health and Welfare Information Systems Centre, as of today the HOIA app has been downloaded on 178,686 occasions, and 295 individuals have used the app to highlight themselves as having been infected. A total of 158 of those cases are active.

The koroonatestimine.ee/en/ website provides information about testing based on a referral, testing when crossing the border, and also paid testing. Important information for physicians and employers can also be found on the website. Furthermore, anyone who has a doctor’s referral can use the website to book a test. Certificate details, customer service contact numbers, and the addresses of test sites can also be found on the website along with other useful information.

Further information about COVID-19 can be found on the Health Board website and on its Facebook page.