Estonia tightens restrictions in greater Tallinn area for New Year's

The Estonian government on Wednesday decided to tighten coronavirus restrictions for Tallinn and the greater capital region, banning all indoor gatherings and events and putting a limit on outdoor gatherings of a maximum of 10 people.

Restaurants are only allowed to offer takeaway service between December 28 and January 17, while cultural venues as well as leisure and sports facilities are largely to remain closed.

Churches are exempt from the new rules and are allowed to remain open during the Christmas holidays. However, attendance at their services is limited to a maximum of 50% of normal capacity.

The new restrictions are to prevent strains on the health care system.

Measures "not sufficient"

“Unfortunately, we see that the current measures are not sufficient to slow down the growth trend of the virus,” Prime Minister Jüri Ratas said.

He called on citizens to spend Christmas only with close relatives.

Estonia, which has a population of 1.3 million, has seen a significant rise in coronavirus infections in the last few months.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Baltic country has recorded more than 23,000 infections since the beginning of the pandemic.