Highly important information regarding testing, quarantining, and being a close contact

If you have any questions regarding testing arrangements, freedom of movement restrictions, or isolation conditions, please call the national helpline on 1247. 

If you have more serious health problems, please contact your general practitioner’s clinic or, if it is not possible to reach your general practitioner’s clinic, you will be able to find help by contacting the national general practitioner’s helpline on 1220. 

For less serious health problems, please contact your general practitioner’s clinic via email.

• 1. How can I schedule a test?

  Patients who exhibit the symptoms of coronavirus do not have to pay for testing to confirm the presence in their system of that virus. A referral is required for testing.
   

  If you develop any symptoms, please call your family health centre which will issue a referral for you.
  
  Once the referral is available through the testing system, a text message (SMS) will be sent to test subjects who are over the age of eighteen years, using the phone number which has been included in the referral, and giving the individual concerned the opportunity to book a time via the online booking system: www.veebiregistratuur.ee, during which they will take a test. On average, twenty-four hours after having tested an individual for coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the laboratory will issue the results on the Health Information System and those results will be made available on digilugu.ee.

  
  You can book an appointment for a pre-travel paid test through a specific provider.

• 2. I received an automated call informing me that I am positive for coronavirus. What should I do next?

  If you are COVID-19-positive or you suspect that you may have the virus, stay at home and contact your general practitioner’s clinic if you exhibit any symptoms. Avoid contact with other people, follow good respiratory and hand hygiene requirements, and have everything you need delivered to your home without having to come into close contact with anyone. If it is not possible to reach your general practitioner’s clinic, contact the national general practitioner’s helpline on 1220. To get a doctor’s confirmation that you should be absent from work, please contact your general practitioner’s clinic.

  
  If you test positive, you must stay at home, under quarantine restrictions, for at least ten days. The start of the quarantine period is considered to be the day upon which the first symptoms show themselves and this period can be calculated here: https://isolatsioonikalkulaator.netlify.app.

  
  Inform your close contacts about the possible risk of infection. A home treatment guide can be found here: www.terviseamet.ee/sites/default/files/Nakkushaigused/Juhendid/COVID-19/koduse_ravi_juhend_taiskasvanutele_27.01.2022_eng.pdf (PDF).

• 3. I am a close contact, do I need to take a test?

  There is no obligation to take a test when you are registered as a close contact. Unvaccinated people must remain in isolation for seven days in cases in which they have become a close contact. It is also recommended that people who have been vaccinated or have had COVID-19 also remain in isolation. It is recommended that you telework if this is at all possible, and that you remain at home for at least five days.

  
  If you develop the symptoms of the virus, please contact your general practitioner’s clinic or call the national general practitioner’s helpline on 1220. They will be able to issue you with a referral for testing. Once the referral is available, a text message will be sent to your phone through which you can book a time in which to take your test. You can book a time online here: www.veebiregistratuur.ee. 
  
  Booking an appointment online is the quickest way to get a test appointment. If the person who has received a referral does not make an appointment, they will have to wait for a call from the call centre.

• 4. I received a referral for testing. Do I need to go for a test even if I am vaccinated?
  If you have symptoms which are characteristic of COVID-19 then it is strongly advised that you undergo testing even if you have been fully vaccinated.

• 5. I have received a referral, but I would like to test in the future. Is that possible?

  Referral-based testing is designed for people who are exhibiting symptoms of coronavirus. If you have no symptoms which may be suggestive of the presence of coronavirus, there is no need to go for a test. Paid testing facilities should be used before you go on a trip, however.

• 6. Is one referral enough for a family?
  A referral is personal. If the entire family comes in for testing, a separate referral must be entered for each member of the family. It is also necessary to book a separate time slot for each person (at consecutive times if possible) when bringing the entire family in for testing.

• 7. How can I cancel my test appointment?

  You can book and cancel your appointments via koroonatestimine.ee/en. If you cancel your appointment online and do not book a new one, you will receive a call from the call centre which will offer you a new time.

  If the process of booking an appointment has been initiated by the call centre, and the person concerned does not show up for their test then their referral will expire. In this case, you will need to request a new referral in order to be given a new test appointment.

• 8. The rapid test produced a positive result. How can I get referral for a PCR test?

  A referral for a PCR test can be obtained from the national general practitioner’s helpline on 1220 or via your general practitioner’s clinic.
   

  The Health Board does not recommend the confirmation of positive antigen rapid tests by means of a PCR test. Similarly, carrying out a PCR test is not recommended for individuals who have previously come into contact with someone who is ill with COVID-19 and who has subsequently developed symptoms which are suggestive of COVID-19. If symptoms do occur, the individual concerned should remain at home and consult a GP if necessary to get a certificate to show their incapacity for work. A PCR test is not necessary to confirm the illness.

  
  However, PCR testing will remain available until the end of February as, by that time, it will have become clearer when the need for PCR testing in order to gain national certification will no longer be required.

• 9. How long is the self-isolation period and restrictions to my freedom of movement?

  A person who tests positive must be isolated at home for at least ten days, and only then can their doctor decide whether that person has recovered. A calculator can help to work out the length of isolation: https://isolatsioonikalkulaator.netlify.app.

  
  People who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 must not leave their place of abode from the time at which the diagnosis is made until they have been declared to be healthy. A close contact must remain in self-isolation for seven days. Anyone who has to remain in self-isolation is not allowed to go to work or school (except in the case of the simplified form of quarantine being applied to that person), and should avoid public places and the use of public transportation. They must stay at home. Instead of going to the shop or pharmacy, we recommend that you ask for help from relatives or that you use e-services to order any necessary groceries or other items. When ordering food and essentials via a courier, avoid direct contact with the courier. You should only go out of your home if you need to such as, for example, to see the doctor or to buy essential goods and medicines if you cannot get them without leaving home.

  
  It is also recommended that people who have been vaccinated or who have had COVID-19, but who have a partner who is currently infected with the virus, should themselves remain in isolation. We recommend telework if possible, and staying at home for at least five days. 

• 10. A child who goes to kindergarten is a close contact and will not be allowed to re-enter kindergarten without taking a PCR test, so who provides the referral?

  If close contact with a COVID-19 virus carrier has taken place in a kindergarten, a childcare institution, a general educational school, or a vocational training institution, asymptomatic children and young people may continue as usual with their daily routines. If symptoms occur, quarantine at home is required until recovery.

   

  Kindergarten children can continue to attend nursery or kindergarten without further testing. In the case of them showing any symptoms of the virus, they should stay at home and request a testing slot.

• 11. How reliable are the rapid tests?

  The reliability of a rapid test depends largely upon the specific type of test and its levels of sensitivity, as well as upon how and when it is used. The instructions for using a rapid test describe the sensitivity of the test and other possible specific details such as the likelihood of getting a false positive result or a false negative result. As there is always the possibility that a rapid test result may not be accurate, a positive result must be confirmed by taking a PCR test. The same is true for a rapid test negative result if a person has symptoms which are characteristic of coronavirus.

  The result of the PCR test should be used as a guide. It should be remembered that a negative rapid test result does not exempt anyone from the requirement to self-isolate.

• 12. How can I create a certificate which shows that I have received a positive test result?

  You can create a certificate for yourself, free of charge, by visiting the patient’s portal: www.digilugu.ee 

  For further instructions on how to create a certificate, please visit: www.tehik.ee/el-covid-toendite-loomise-juhend