Cycling TLN #2: Waiting | State of Emergency in Estonia – Day 43 (Coronavirus & COVID-19)

April 24th 2020. Day 43 of Estonia’s State of Emergency in times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This week the government was supposed to announce the information if and for how long will the State of Emergency be extended, since May 1st, the original deadline, is already a week from now. Well, it took time, whic is understandable, because there are a lot of variables to take into consideration and different political parties in the coalition have a different view on the subject. Still, people were expecting more news this week and by the afternoon of Friday, there was still no official decision.

A bit later in the evening, when I had already finished filming, they announced that they extended the original deadline until the 17th of May. Reason being that while the trends are looking good in Estonia, nobody really wants to risk a second wave. And that’s also the reason why a number of restrictions will probably be in place for even longer than the 17th of May. This will affect a number of public events among other things.

Besides describing the government’s exit strategy, I also decided to address the question, whether this is just another flu – since apparently that question still hasn’t left the minds of people. I took the numbers of Iceland, the country with the biggest percentage of population tested, and compared it to SARSCoV-2. What does this say about the new coronavirus?

Volume 2 of the bicycle diaries from Astangu in Tallinn. Also, last Sunday was bicycle day. So happy bicycle day! And remember to journey safe.

Book recommendation of the week:
Yuval Noah Harari ‘Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind’
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23692271-sapiens?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=WF1epkreli&rank=1

Photo blog:
https://emergencyexploring.wordpress.com

For volunteering in Estonia:

Redirect to Helpific webpage…

Data of case numbers taken from the websites of Estonia’s Health Board (Terviseamet) and the ECDC. Also some data from Wikipedia and Iceland’s COVID page
https://www.terviseamet.ee/et
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu
https://www.covid.is
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_testing

Live updates:
https://koroonakaart.ee
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Additional sources from Al Jazeera, Delfi, Eesti Ekspress, Eesti Päevaleht, ERR, Postimees and The Guardian.
A number of media companies are being hit hard by the crisis, so please consider supporting your local media outlet – there are people working hard to make sure we get all the crucial information so we could stay informed.

Used articles:
https://news.err.ee/1082079/government-extends-emergency-situation
https://news.err.ee/1079942/municipality-mayor-of-saaremaa-resigns-over-coronavirus
https://news.err.ee/1081965/edf-field-hospital-in-kuressaare-to-be-packed-up-by-end-of-april
https://ekspress.delfi.ee/kuum/taiuslik-koroonakolle-kuidas-viirus-saaremaa-menuuritustelt-valla-paases?id=89250245
https://news.err.ee/1078904/nogene-lhv-loan-offer-to-tallink-highway-robbery
https://news.err.ee/1079345/airbaltic-plans-to-restart-services-in-may
https://www.delfi.ee/news/paevauudised/eesti/valitsus-avaldas-koroonakriisist-valjumise-kava-uhiskonna-avamise-eelduseks-on-valmisolek-uueks-puhanguks?id=89638959
https://news.err.ee/1080611/minister-coronavirus-restrictions-to-be-lifted-in-stages-through-summer
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/21/bitter-pill-bavaria-cancels-oktoberfest-over-fears-of-coronavirus-spread
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/experts-react-horror-trump-coronavirus-disinfectant-idea-200424030220581.html
https://epl.delfi.ee/uudised/irja-lutsar-ilmselt-peame-selle-viirusega-leidma-kompromissi?id=89598459
https://leht.postimees.ee/6951779/maatoo-populaarsus-huppas-uleoo-lakke
https://www.err.ee/1079527/rootsi-strateegia-voitluses-koroonaviiruse-vastu-on-hakanud-tulemusi-andma

This video is made for educational and non-commercial purposes to document the ongoing crisis. I do not own the rights to the articles. If involved parties feel that their rights have been misused, please contact me and I will make necessary amendments.All my gratitude to Annemari Parmakson for her feedback, assistance, patience and support.