The fourth wave of the monitoring study by the University of Tartu that was presented to the Government did not identify any positive COVID-19 cases

Tallinn, Stenbock House, 25 June 2020 – The results of the fourth wave of the monitoring study by the University of Tartu that were presented to Members of the Government today did not identify any persons infected with the coronavirus.

The fourth wave of the monitoring study was conducted from 11 June to 21 June. In the course of the study, 3872 adult Estonian residents were interviewed, and 2864 of them were randomly selected for testing. No coronavirus-positive samples were found in the testing.

“The work of researchers confirms that we have learnt to react better to the spread of infection. In the event of a new outbreak, we aim at localising as many outbreak sites as possible. With this approach, we can hopefully avoid establishing restrictions with a large societal impact that cover the whole state,” said Prime Minister Jüri Ratas.

“The low prevalence shows that the new cases which have occurred in the meantime have also been brought under control well, and have not caused the virus to spread more widely. Our study has also shown that the infected people act responsibly and significantly reduce contact with other people,” said the director of the monitoring study, University of Tartu professor Ruth Kalda.

Professor Kalda thanked all people who have participated in the study so far, because even coming to testing while completely healthy, they have helped to provide society with knowledge of whether and how wide the virus has spread in Estonia. “Looking at the data of the most recent survey wave, it is especially delightful that a record number of tested people has been achieved in a situation where the danger of the virus is not felt as sharply as in the spring,” Kalda added.

The next wave of the study will take place pursuant to need. In total, in the four waves of the study, 13,385 adult residents have been interviewed based on random selection, and 10,397 of them have been tested. As a result of testing, the previous waves of the study have identified a total of 14 coronavirus-positive cases.

17 research projects from the University of Tartu are connected to conducting the study, and its main partners are AS Kantar-Emor, OÜ Medicum Eriarstiabi, and SYNLAB Eesti OÜ.

You can find detailed information about the coronavirus prevalence study on the website of the University of Tartu: https://www.ut.ee/en/research/study-prevalence-coronavirus-estonia