Prime minister makes political statement on COVID-19 situation

Prime minister kaja Kallas makes political statement on COVID-19 situation. Photo: Sander Ilvest

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said at a public sitting of the Riigikogu Social Affairs Committee on Monday that Estonia is now in a code red situation regarding the coronavirus, with 21.5 percent of all tests returning positive and hospitals treating 516 people.

Kallas described as the biggest problem the workload of hospitals and shortage of qualified medical personnel and urged politicians to refrain from vilifying medical workers.

Prime Minister Kallas said that people infected with Covid who have not been vaccinated outnumber those who have 2.5 times, while people are three times as likely to take ill if they have not been vaccinated. Unvaccinated people for whom the virus proves fatal outnumber vaccinated ones five times, 76 percent of ICU patients are unvaccinated (94 percent in the Tartu University Hospital).

Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise said at the public sitting of the Riigikogu Social Affairs Committee that while her office has received numerous complaints over new measures, she finds the restrictions justified in the current situation. She said that the scientific consensus is that people who have not been vaccinated are hit harder by the virus. “The goal is to bring down hospitals’ workload as quickly as possible. Limiting people’s contacts in certain social groups is admissible in the service of this goal,” Madise said.

The justice chancellor suggested that the Covid certificate issued to people who have recovered from the virus could remain valid for a year instead of the current six months. She emphasized once more that rights and freedoms must be balanced with obligations. Valid measures need to be complied with, and once restrictions have been ordered, the state needs to monitor said compliance.

Andres Kork from the Estonian Medical Association said that vaccines do not attack the virus but help slow its spread, adding that without vaccines, Estonia would today be where Italy was when the pandemic started.

Kork also suggested unvaccinated people have more benefits than vaccinated ones, for example, in that they are paid sickness benefits for 10 days, while those who have gotten the shot are not.

Health Board department head Ragnar Vaiknemets told members of the parliamentary committee that forecasts have become very accurate and this summer’s prognosis has manifested.

Vaiknemets added that no abatement is on the horizon today. “It is to be feared that the school break will boost the infection rate further.”

The Health Board official said that forecasts suggest Estonia will have 600 coronavirus patients by early November and 800 by the month’s end.

The PM told members of the Riigikogu that while the elderly required protection in the first two waves of the coronavirus, efforts now need to concentrate on unvaccinated people. “Unvaccinated people with Covid are more contagious than vaccinated ones, the disease is more severe for them and they are more likely to need hospitalization and for longer periods,” Kallas explained.

Kallas asked the Riigikogu and government to find consensus in supporting the healthcare system. “So that no one would demonize, attack or threaten medical workers giving their all to help people. I wish you strength, Estonian doctors and nurses,” she said.

The premier also emphasized the importance of compliance with measures to make it possible to keep society open and for hospitals to help all patients, not just those with Covid. “If your decision not to get vaccinated is final, please take extra care of yourself and avoid contacts until the infection rate goes down,” she said.

Kallas also said that vaccination rates are high in the Nordics because of a social agreement that this is a health crisis in which the opposition supports the government. Citizens of Finland and Sweden also have a more positive view of vaccines in general.

Experts mulling isolation requirement for vaccinated close contacts

While vaccinated close contacts of people diagnosed are currently not obligated to isolate, the Health Board and the education minister’s scientific advisor Mario Kadastik find that immunized close contacts should isolate in cases where the infected person is a family member.

Data suggests that vaccinated people very seldom catch the virus when taking public transport or attending indoor events, with most taking ill after a family member is diagnosed. For example, parents of children who catch the virus at school do not currently have to isolate if they have been vaccinated.

“Family contacts sport a high risk. If we were to limit the movements of vaccinated people, it would need to start there,” said Mari-Anne Härma, deputy director of the Health Board. Kadastik added that he believes Estonia should order the additional measure in the current situation.

Härma said that vaccination efforts should prioritize booster shots for the elderly and especially administering first shots to unvaccinated people. The number of vaccine shots administered more than doubled last week when over 10,500 people, twice the figure from the week before, were given the first jab.

Härma explained that vaccinated people do not suffer as much from the disease and recover more quickly, meaning they are also contagious for a shorter time.