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Order of the person in charge of emergency situation for imposing a restriction on the freedom of movement in commercial establishments

Passed 24.03.2020 No. 46

Due to the emergency situation declared by the Government of the Republic Order No. 76 “Declaration of an emergency situation in the administrative territory of the Republic of Estonia” of 12 March 2020, the person in charge of emergency situation decides:

1. Under § 31 (1) and (3) of the Emergency Act, a restriction on the freedom of movement and a prohibition on stay in shopping centres are imposed on persons because in crowded places the risk of the virus spreading is very high and therefore, in this current situation where a large number of people are infected, it is proportional to restrict the movement and gathering of people in said places. The restriction on the freedom of movement is necessary for the protection of the life and health of people and overriding public interest in order to prevent the spread of the virus causing the COVID-19 disease.
2. Provided the following establishments ensure the availability of disinfectants at entrances and exits and supervision arranged by the possessors of the commercial premises over compliance with the requirement provided for in clause 3, the restriction provided for in clause 1 is not applied to the following stores located and services provided in shopping centres:
1) grocery stores;
2) pharmacies;
3) stores where technical aids and medical devices are sold or rented on the basis of technical aid card or medical device card;
4) bank offices;
5) points of sale of telecommunications companies;
6) parcel terminals;
7) catering establishments where food is not consumed on site but only sold as takeaway.
3. Under § 31 (3) of the Emergency Act, a restriction on movement is imposed in parts of buildings used for trading or public parts of buildings related to trading, whereby it is allowed to walk around in groups of one or two people while keeping at least two metres of distance from others.
4. Under § 24 (2) of the Emergency Act, local authorities shall ensure compliance with the restriction on the freedom of movement provided for in clause 1 according to the conditions set out in this Order.
5. Under § 24 (2) of the Emergency Act, local authorities shall ensure that the residents and undertakings in the territory of their administrative units are notified of the restriction on the freedom of movement provided for in clause 1 and the local authorities shall suggest to the possessors of the parts of buildings referred to in clause 3 that they make disinfectants available at the entrances and exits on the relevant commercial premises.
6. Supervision over the measures provided for in clause 3 is exercised by the Police and Border Guard Board.
7. The measures established by this Order shall apply until this Order is changed and the need for these measures shall be assessed no later than after every two weeks.
8. Broadcasters shall publish the Order promptly in unaltered form and free of charge.
9. This Order takes effect on 27 March 2020.

Failure to duly comply with measures of emergency situation will prompt the application of the administrative coercive measures set out in § 28 (2) or (3) of the Law Enforcement Act. According to § 47 of the Emergency Act, the amount of penalty payment is 2000 euros.
The reasons and considerations are set out in the explanatory memorandum to the Order, which will be published on the website of the Government of the Republic.
This Order can be appealed against by filing a challenge pursuant to the procedure provided by the Administrative Procedure Act within 30 days as of the day the relevant person became or should have become aware of the Order. This Order can also be appealed against by filing an action with the administrative court pursuant to the procedure provided for in the Code of Administrative Court Procedure within 30 days as of the day of announcement of this Order.