South African Coronavirus Strain Spreading In Estonia - Senior Health Official

HELSINKI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th April, 2021) The coronavirus situation in Estonia has begun to improve, but experts are concerned about the spread of the South African COVID-19 strain in the country, Deputy Director General of the Health board Mari-Anne Harma said.

"As of today, 90 percent of infections in Estonia are caused by the so-called UK virus strain, but the share of the South African strain is gradually increasing. In cooperation with the University of Tartu, we have detected 37 cases of infection with this strain," Harma said at a news conference in Tallinn.

"Eleven of them, so to speak, are local, that is, not imported from abroad. Eight of them are interconnected, that is, one person brought the virus from abroad, and then it has already passed to people in close contact with him," she said.

According to the Health Board, the number of registered cases of coronavirus infection in Estonia has reached 115,629, with 1,057 deaths since the pandemic start.