Reform wants vaccinated people to be exempt from restrictions during 3rd wave

TALLINN - The parliamentary group of the senior partner in the government coalition Reform Party has adopted the position that if new restrictions are introduced in the fall for curbing the spread of COVID-19, they should only apply to people who have not been vaccinated and who have not recovered from the virus or recently tested negative.

"It is important that we all understand that the time when restrictions applied to all members of the society will not return. Life needs to remain as free as it is today for the people who have taken steps to stop the spread of the virus," leader of the Reform Party group Mart Vorklaev said.

Vorklaev noted that members of the government who participated in the group's meeting confirmed that new restrictions can be introduced in this way and that the government is making an effort to develop a plan for the fall.

"Vaccination is available for all people in Estonia today and I encourage everyone to take this simple step," he added.

The group leader said that a system where the people who do not spread the virus are less affected by the restrictions would be fair to both people and businesses.

"Taking into consideration new virus strains, it is clear that our minimum target needs to be to achieve vaccination coverage of at least 70 percent or more," he said.

"There is also a possibility that we won't need to establish new restrictions in the fall. For that, the current holiday period should be used to make sure that the virus is unable to spread in September. Everyone -- go and get vaccinated!" Vorklaev said.