As of 20 April, the United States has added Estonia – alongside with most of the world’s countries – to its “Do Not Travel” list due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
According to the State Department, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – known as the CDC – has issued a Level 4 travel health notice for Estonia due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, indicating a “very high level of COVID-19 in the country”.
The State Department also warns that there are restrictions in place affecting US citizens’ entry into Estonia. That is true – Estonia currently does not allow US citizens to enter the country.
However, if the person attempting to enter Estonia – coming from any region – has suffered from the coronavirus or if they have completed a COVID-19 vaccination programme in less than six months before their arrival, they will be let into the country and they don’t need to self-isolate, either.
Also, Estonian citizens, wherever in the world may they live, can enter Estonia. If they haven’t been vaccinated or haven’t suffered from the virus in the last six months, and they’re coming from a country that has a high infection rate, they will need to self-isolate for ten days.
The US only recommends safe travelling to one country
Currently, only one country in the world is listed by the US State Department as “Exercise Normal Precautions” when travelling there – that country is Bhutan. Sixteen countries are listed as “Exercise Increased Caution” and 41 countries as “Reconsider Travel”.
All the remaining countries in the world – around 140 of them – are listed as “Do Not Travel”.
Estonia is indeed showing relatively high numbers of COVID-19 infections, although it’s gone down significantly from what it was a few weeks ago. Currently, according to the Estonian Health Board, the number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days was 536. In the second half of March, this number was 1,553.
In the past 24 hours as of writing this article, Estonia registered 472 new coronavirus cases in the country.
Cover: Tallinn Airport. The image is illustrative.
