Estonia opens healthcare, schools to follow in easing of lockdown

TALLINN (Reuters) - Estonia has started to gradually open healthcare services and will open some schools on May 15 as it starts to emerge from a coronavirus lockdown, a government strategy document published on Wednesday showed.

The country of 1.3 million people introduced strict isolation measures in mid March to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. The number of new daily infections peaked at 93 on April 2 and has been trending lower since. The country has recorded a total of more than 1,500 infections and 44 deaths.

Estonia plans to open secondary schools from May 15 so pupils can prepare for year-end exams, according to the three-step strategy.

Open-air museums, outside sports and hobbies will be the next permitted to resume, followed by weddings with a limited number of guests and shops in malls.

Export-dependent Estonia's economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with the Central Bank forecasting a drop in GDP of between 5.5% and 14% this year depending on the length of the lockdown. The jobless rate is seen jumping to 10-13% by the end of 2020, from 4.5%.