Estonia 200 proposes to exit COVID-19 restrictions on Dec 1

TALLINN – The Estonia 200 party proposes to lift coronavirus related restrictions in Estonia on Dec. 1, when vaccination coverage of 70 percent must be reached, the party's leader Kristina Kallas said on Wednesday. 

"We still have no light at the end of the tunnel and it is not clear how and when we will exit the restrictions. One after another, the Nordic countries around us are announcing the lifting of all restrictions and a return to normal life. We have not achieved our objectives in vaccination, but we also do not have a clearly marked finish line and, still, an action plan for vaccination," the leader of the party that has no seats in parliament said.

She said now is the time to come up with a strategy for lifting coronavirus related restrictions and set a clear deadline.

Estonia 200 proposes to exit the restrictions on Dec. 1, when vaccination coverage of 70 percent must be achieved. If the government cannot achieve said level of vaccination by then, Minister of Health and Labor Tanel Kiik must take responsibility and resign.

Kallas said that people are tired, and the lack of light at the end of the tunnel further increases the feeling of anxiety.

"Today, the traffic light strategy no longer serves its purpose. The imposition of restrictions increases losses in society not directly related to the prevalence of the disease, which are cumulative. The longer we are in this uncertainty, the longer-term the damage to people and the economy will be. Younger people in particular suffer from this," Kallas said.

She recalled that the European Council on External Relations warned in a study report in September that living under restrictions for a long time has a strong impact on young people under the age of 30 and significantly less on people over the age of 60, creating long-term gaps in European societies. Non-working restrictions must be lifted and children's testing in schools must also be stopped, Estonia 200 finds.