COVID-19 blog, 4 January: 390 new positive test results have been added in the past 24 hours

The last 24 hours have seen 3,394 tests being analysed in Estonia in relation to coronavirus, of which the results of 390 (11.5%) of the initial tests were positive.

Based on the data in the population register, the highest number of new positive test results came from Harju County, where 269 further individuals were found to have been infected. A total of 211 of the new cases from Harju County were from Tallinn.

A further twenty-five new positive coronavirus test results were added from Ida-Viru County, twenty-four from Tartu County, seventeen from Lääne-Viru County, and thirteen from Viljandi County. Eight new cases were added from Pärnu County, four from Võru County, and two each from Valga County, Rapla County, and Järva County. A further one new case each was also added from Hiiu County, Jõgeva County, Lääne County, and Põlva County. On twenty 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 559.53, and 12.4% of all initial tests have been found to be positive.

The Health Board is monitoring over 21,700 individuals

The northern regional department is monitoring over 13,500 people, of whom 3,992 have fallen ill.

The eastern regional department is monitoring over 4,400 people, of whom 1,412 have fallen ill.

There are over 2,500 people who are being monitored by the southern regional department, of whom 901 have fallen ill (the number of people who are being monitored also includes individuals from the northern, eastern, and western regions).

There are over 1,300 people who are being monitored by the western regional department, of whom 416 have fallen ill.

Forty-five new COVID-19 cases were opened within the past 24 hours, and a total of 423 patients are being treated in hospital

As of the morning of 4 January, hospital treatment is being supplied to 423 patients who have COVID-19. Forty-seven of those patients require intensive care, with twenty-nine patients on a ventilator.

Forty-five new COVID-19 cases were opened in total. Twelve patients were discharged from hospital, two patients were transferred to a non-COVID-19 unit, and two further patients were transferred to another hospital.

Seven new coronavirus deaths were registered within the past 24 hours, involving a 59 year-old man, a 75 year-old man, an 80 year-old man, an 81 year-old man, an 82 year-old man, an 85 year-old woman, and an 89 year-old woman. Coronavirus has claimed the lives of 251 people in Estonia in total.

As of today, 4 January, hospitals have closed a total of 1,559 cases relating to COVID-19 which involved 1,532 people.

Also as of 4 January, a total of 19,453 people have recovered from COVID-19. The cases of 14,521 people have been closed (74.6% of the total) and, in the case of 4,932 people (25.4%), 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.

Since developing the capability of testing for coronavirus in spring 2020, over 645,900 tests have been analysed in Estonia in relation to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The number of positive initial test results amounts to 29,521 individuals, or 4.6% of the total. Detailed statistical data from the coronavirus tests is available at: www.terviseamet.ee/en/coronavirus-dataset.

In total, 2,535 individuals in Estonia have been vaccinated against COVID-19

A total of 2,535 individuals have now been vaccinated against COVID-19. At the beginning of this week at the latest, TEHIK will also be displaying detailed vaccination information on the Health Board’s coronavirus map. Patients can view their vaccination information in the ‘Patient Portal’ at digilugu.ee/en.

The aim of vaccinating against COVID-19 is to protect risk groups who are likelier to be infected or who are at a higher risk of developing severe symptoms in the event of being infected, as well as to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to reduce the number of deaths that are caused by the disease, while also alleviating the load on the healthcare system and the economy, and to enable society to function normally.

The first recipients of the vaccination will be healthcare professionals and employees of healthcare institutions, the employees and residents of care homes, and individuals who are over seventy years old and who suffer from certain health conditions which may increase the severity of COVID-19 symptoms that could be experienced in the event of their falling ill. As soon as Estonia receives a sufficient number of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, vaccination will also become available to other target groups, as well as to the general population.

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/en.

Based on information which is available to the Health and Welfare Information Systems Centre (TEHIK), the HOIA app has been downloaded on 248,758 occasions, and 2,300 individuals have used the app to highlight themselves as having been infected. A total of 591 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.

The intensity of the spread of the virus in Estonia is very high

Let’s observe all of the restrictions and measures which have been established to protect our health in order to ensure both that our healthcare system can cope and to avoid endangering the health and lives of other people. Let’s avoid all unnecessary contact with others, follow social distancing rules, and please wear face masks!

Please keep your contact with other people at a minimum level, and stay at home as much as possible in order to reduce the risk of being infected, as well as of spreading the virus within your family circle.

It is well known that the elderly and those individuals who suffer from chronic diseases are hit hardest by COVID-19 and are likelier to end up in hospital. Let’s do our best to avoid infecting them. Let’s prefer communication over the phone or online and spend less time together physically.

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