In total, 2,000 new COVID-19 cases were added last week, with 156 patients requiring hospital treatment

According to the Health Board, a little over 2,000 new COVID-19 cases were added last week, with 156 patients requiring hospital treatment as of Monday morning.

According to Hanna Sepp, head of the Health Board’s Department of Concomitant Diseases, a total of 16,204 tests were analysed last week, of which 2,039 were positive. Compared to the week before, the number of registered infection cases has dropped by 26%. ‘The “R” number remains around 0.85. This week we can expect a little under 150 new cases each day,’ explained Sepp, adding that the risk level regarding the spread of coronavirus is medium, based on the risk matrix which is focussed on the number of hospitalisation cases.

The hospital treatment figure should drop to 120 patients this week. As of Monday morning, 156 people required hospital treatment, of whom a total of sixty-one patients were receiving hospital treatment after having developed severe COVID-19 symptoms. On average within the past seven days, 6.3 new patients each day who exhibit signs of symptomatic COVID-19 infection have been hospitalised. Nine new deaths were registered within the week, including four of individuals who had not been vaccinated.

A total of 2,123 vaccine doses have been administered over the past seven days, with 362 individuals receiving their first injections. As of this morning, 453,407 individuals have received their additional or booster doses. Of the total population in Estonia, 63.5% have received two vaccine doses.

The SARS-CoV-2 concentration levels in wastewater remained at a moderate level. Based on data from the past three weeks, the virus concentration levels in wastewater has been showing a growing trend in Narva, Ahtme, and Tallinn. Based on the results of the past week, Viljandi, Valga, Sillamäe, Kohtla-Järve, and Keila showed the greatest level of increase.

The Health Board stopped publishing daily COVID-19 statistics as of the start of May and will now be publishing overviews of the infection situation on a weekly basis. According to Hanna Sepp, head of the Health Board’s Department of Communicable Diseases, a weekly assessment of the indicators provides a more comprehensive overview of the spread of the infection compared to the previous daily assessment. Several countries, including Finland out of our nearest neighbours, have also switched to similar practices.

The coronavirus map on the Health Board’s website will be updated once a week, on Tuesdays, with new numerical information also being published at the same time.