COVID-19 blog, 25 October: sixty new positive test results have been added in the past 24 hours

The last 24 hours have seen a total of 1,267 initial tests being analysed in Estonia in relation to the SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19, with sixty new positive test results being added.

Based on the data in the population register, the highest number of new positive test results came from Harju County, where fifteen further individuals were found to have been infected. Thirteen new positive coronavirus test results were added from Ida-Viru County, two cases from Jõgeva County, and one new case each from Tartu County, Hiiu County, Pärnu County, Võru County, and Rapla County.

Twenty-two Slovenian footballers have tested positive, with the result that their match which was scheduled to be played on Tuesday has been cancelled

On twenty-five occasions, the places of residences of those individuals who tested positive were not specified in the population register. Twenty-two of those individuals were members of the Slovenian women’s national football team. The team had travelled to Tallinn for their European Championship qualifier against Estonia which was scheduled to be played on 27 October. The match has been cancelled and UEFA will decide how to proceed. The Slovenian team will take a charter flight back to their home country and will remain in isolation at their hotel until the flight.

‘The Slovenian women’s team was at a training camp in Maribor where to our knowledge they were tested on several occasions. The latest tests were conducted on 20 October. The Slovenians took a charter flight from Maribor to Moscow, where they played a European Championship qualifier against Russia on 23 October. On 24 October, they arrived in Estonia via another charter flight, where they were tested again,’ said Mihkel Uiboleht, head of public relations at the Estonian Football Association.

The number of cases for every 100,000 people in the last fourteen days is 41.16.

Two of the new cases from Harju County were infected within their family circle, while one further individual caught the virus in the workplace. The circumstances surrounding the remaining cases are still being investigated.

Ten of the new cases which were added on 24 October were infected within their family circle and five individuals caught the virus in the workplace. On ten occasions, the origins of the infection remained unknown, while the circumstances surrounding two further cases are still being investigated.

The Health Board’s northern regional department is monitoring almost 1,800 people, of whom 312 have fallen ill. There are nine different outbreaks in total within the northern regional department’s area of operations. Forty-two cases are connected to the first outbreak in a workplace, while the second workplace outbreak involves eight cases, and the third workplace outbreak also involves eight cases. An outbreak within a family circle includes five individuals, while the first school outbreak involves six cases. A fourth workplace outbreak involves nine cases, while a fifth workplace outbreak includes six individuals. A second school outbreak includes five cases, and a party outbreak includes seventeen individuals.

Four of the new cases from Ida-Viru County were infected within a family circle, three individuals were infected at school, and two individuals caught the virus in the workplace. Two further individuals were infected via their acquaintances, and one individual caught the virus at a kindergarten. There are nine active outbreaks in total within the eastern regional department’s area of operations. Eleven cases are connected to an outbreak at a school in Kohtla-Järve, and an outbreak within a circle of family members and acquaintances in Ida-Viru County involves eight cases. There are nine cases that are connected to an outbreak at a school in Jõhvi, and twenty-one cases to the care home outbreak in Jõhvi. The outbreak at a school in Sillamäe involves a further thirty-six individuals, and an outbreak at an entertainment establishment involves ten cases in total in Kohtla-Järve and Sillamäe. The workplace outbreak from Narva involves seven cases.

In addition to the previous seven cases, a second school outbreak in Sillamäe which involves eight cases and a kindergarten outbreak in Narva with five cases were also added today. The Health Board’s eastern regional department is monitoring over 630 people, of whom 123 have fallen ill.

One of the cases from Jõgeva County was infected within the family circle, while the circumstances surrounding the other case are still being investigated. The new case from Tartu County also caught the virus from a family member. The circumstances surrounding the new case from Võru County are still being investigated. The southern regional department is monitoring over 400 people, of whom fifty-seven have fallen ill. As part of those efforts the southern regional department is also monitoring one outbreak which occurred in a workplace in Jõgeva County and which involves twenty individuals.

The new case from Pärnu County was brought in from Ukraine, while the circumstances surrounding the new case from Hiiu County are still being investigated. The western regional department is monitoring almost 140 people, of whom twenty-seven have fallen ill.

Twenty-nine COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospital

As of the morning of 25 October, a total of twenty-nine COVID-19 patients in Estonia are being treated in hospital, with three patients on a ventilator. One new patient was discharged from hospital, and one new COVID-19 case was opened. No new deaths have been added in the past 24 hours.

As of today, 25 October, hospitals have closed a total of 535 cases relating to COVID-19 which involved 521 people.

Also as of 25 October, a total of 3,547 people have recovered from COVID-19. The cases of 2,541 people have been closed (73.5% of the total) and, in the case of 916 people (26.5%), more than 28 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.

Over 252,000 initial tests have been analysed in Estonia, of which 4,411 or 1.75% 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 advice only to travel if it is unavoidable still stands. Anyone who arrives from abroad must carefully monitor their health. It is the personal responsibility of everyone in Estonia to stay at home and avoid spreading the infection if they are ill.

The perception of being at risk due to the spread of coronavirus increased slightly among the residents of Estonia at the beginning of October. A total of 58% of the population believe that the situation is critical, while 73% of people are concerned about being infected by another individual without their knowledge, and 83% are prepared to wear a mask in various places and situations. These details were revealed by a survey which was commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and was conducted by Turu-uuringute AS.

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/en.

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 164,259 occasions, and 135 individuals have used the app to highlight themselves as having been infected.

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