Urmas Klaas: thank you to the residents of Tartu for their understanding, but further efforts are still required
Tartu City Government Press Release
/ During the month-long emergency situation, the Tartu City Government has implemented a series of measures in order to help undertakings, contractual partners and city residents cope with the difficult circumstances of the emergency situation. According to Mayor Urmas Klaas, who is also the head of Tartu’s crisis management team, residents of Tartu have coped well during the emergency situation, although further efforts are needed so that we will be able to exit the emergency situation more quickly.
‘I would like to thank all of the people of Tartu for their understanding and adherence to the rules of the emergency situation. By working together we have so far been able to prevent the widespread dissemination of the virus in Tartu. I hope that the holidays that are now beginning and the school holiday, which is set to begin in a couple of weeks, do not bring about any setbacks. As is the custom in Tartu: we care for each other and ourselves’, said Mayor Urmas Klaas.
According to the Mayor, the City Government has adopted a broad range of measures to ensure that activities in different areas of life will be able to continue as normally as possible following the end of the emergency situation. ‘The foreseeable future will not be easy; however, we have made a series of decisions in business, education, culture and other areas of life in order to help us survive these difficult times.’
Educational institutions were the first to begin operating under the new conditions, when schools switched over to distance learning. The City Government has fully supported schools in the organisation of distance learning. ‘The Department of Education has cooperated continuously with schools and, in our opinion, Tartu’s schools have done quite well with distance learning. Students are also good, and I am convinced that the experience gained this spring will show our schools how to successfully combine distance learning with conventional methods of learning’, added the Mayor. The City Government has also ensured that the children of families requiring assistance would be able to eat a warm school lunch during the crisis.
Nursery schools have had to rearrange much of their work during the emergency situation. Work has continued on a smaller scale at all of Tartu’s nursery schools. Maarjamõisa Nursery School is prepared to operate an around-the-clock nursery school for the children of parents who are involved in the provision of critical services.
‘Considering that the nursery school service is not operating fully during the emergency situation, and that the emergency situation is causing financial uncertainty for many families, we decided to waive the place fee for nursery schools until the end of April', explained Klaas.
In the social field, the City Government has continued to help those who are in need. Tartu's older residents are also guaranteed the provision of home services, home delivery of hot food and medicine, and social transport during the emergency situation. ‘Work has been reorganised in the social field such that people’s basic needs are being met, with physical contact being reduced to the minimum possible. We have received a great deal of feedback from city residents about people needing assistance – the residents of Tartu have demonstrated a great deal of caring.'
According to the Mayor of Tartu, undertakings are also under significant pressure, especially the service sector. ‘We contacted undertakings at the very beginning of the emergency situation, attempting to identify the main problems that undertakings are facing because of the crisis situation and where they need the most help. Relying on feedback from nearly 400 undertakings, we sent proposals to the Government of the Republic regarding the specific steps that could be taken by the State to alleviate problems arising from the crisis situation. The State has already taken several proposals into consideration, although a number of problems still remain', added the Mayor.
Organisers of cultural and sporting events also find themselves in a very difficult situation at the moment. The City continues to support events that have been postponed, and for events that have been cancelled, already incurred expenditures will be accepted. The payment of capitation fees will continue to sports clubs.
A great deal of attention is being focused by the City Government on compliance with the restrictions on movement. ‘We directed the employees of the Proceedings Service to control the observance of restrictions on movement at the city's playgrounds, athletic fields, and other public places. In addition, we are cooperating actively with security undertakings and the police. Our goal is to explain the seriousness of the situation to people and to convince them to follow these restrictions. Fining them is more of an extreme measure', added Klaas.
The City Government has actively dealt with notifying residents of Tartu, utilising a number of different means and channels. According to the Mayor, information about the restrictions arising from the emergency situation has reached people. ‘Now all we have to do is hope that beautiful spring weather and boredom from sitting at home don’t lead to unnecessary gatherings and new outbreaks of the virus. I wish everyone continued endurance and a very special Easter holiday in the company of their family’, said Mayor Urmas Klaas.
The City of Tartu’s measures as a whole can be found on Tartu's homepage (in Estonian): www.tartu.ee/kuidas-tartu-aitab. The list of measures is being updated on a continuous basis.
Last changed 10.04.2020
