Last March when one European country after another went to lock down and after toilet paper and sanitisers had sold out; people turned shopping out fitness and sports equipments. Some shops ran out of home fitness machines and accessories. As public transport had also become a "death trap" bicycle, that combines fitness, transportation and social distancing became one of the most wanted item.

 Memo to government: all hands on deck in the campaign to stop coronavirus in its tracks.

Most Finns returned from their summer holidays at the beginning of the month. So did the politicians and bureaucrats, many of whom enjoyed a long vacation. 

But coronavirus doesn’t take a vacation.

In bone-dry prose, THL (the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare) reports the sobering news: 137 new cases were diagnosed between August 5^th and 11^th. That’s twice as many as the last week of July. 

This spring has been nothing like any of us expected. Our lives have been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Covid-19 has dragged us into a situation where both the present and the future are full of uncertainty. In decision making, this means that with any step we take, we cannot be certain of what the consequences could be.

The Finnish basic school system was created because we wanted to ensure that the whole nation would receive an adequate education. By affording education to all students, regardless of their family background, we wanted to enable every student to find employment and pursue his or her dreams. At the time, the political right opposed the introduction of basic school. Today, we know that Finnish basic school is a success story admired around the world.

“I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence…Moreover, he who has contracted the disease and recovered should keep away from others and not admit them into his presence unless it be necessary."

The disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak has left no part of society untouched, with education being no exception. With schools across the country remaining closed, teachers are having to come up with creative ways to engage their students.

The call for a less integrated world expressed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic would lead to a loss of income and prosperity. This is according to a recent study by the ifo Institute. “Rolling back globalization, for example by bringing production back to Germany on a larger scale, would not be a solution to the current crisis,” says Lisandra Flach, Director of the ifo Center for International Economics. 

It’s all about the evolution of prevention, not exit.

In early March we had only one ethically sound alternative: the use of extraordinary measures - whatever it takes - to avoid unmanageable epidemy.

New analysis by Amnesty International has found that at least 7,000 health workers have died around the world after contracting COVID-19. At least 1,320 health workers are confirmed to have died in Mexico alone, the highest known figure for any country. 

Amnesty International also recorded high numbers of health worker deaths in the USA (1,077) and Brazil (634), where infection and death rates have been high throughout the pandemic, as well as alarming figures in South Africa (240) and India (573), where infection rates have soared in recent months. 

According tothe Finnish National Infectious Diseases Register, approximately 200 people in the country have contracted the COVID-19 virus after being vaccinated for the same. 

Hanna Nohynek, chief physician at the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) told MTV that it is difficult to determine the exact number of infections, as many of those who were inoculated could have mild symptoms and may be unaware that they have the virus.

A BAR IN THE CITY CENTRE OF OULU HAS HAD ITS NAME changed to 'COVID-19', igniting a storm of mostly negative responses from locals and the Twittersphere.

European Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni hinted at the possibility that the Commission may utilise pan-European tools in the form of equities to rebalance risk in the Eurozone. On the same note, the French treasury proposed in a position paper an “equity fund” to recapitalise businesses or buy shares in domestic companies.

As the European crisis deepens and pressure on the Commission mounts, the following questions arise: How and in what scale will the Commission act? Will the Commission implement a direct or indirect financial instrument to stimulate economies of EU member states?

A new clusterof COVID-19 cases has been traced to passengers on an inter-city bus that travelled from Helsinki to Savonlinna. The Savonlinna Central Hospital has confirmed that the infections were caused by the South African strain of the virus.

As of Wednesday morning, 64 people were confirmed to be infected with the new variant, which is thought to be more contagious than the original virus. The bus was carrying about a dozen passengers when it made the journey on 26 January.  

THE CITY OF HELSINKI HAS DRAWN UP CONTINGENCY PLANS to convert the former Herttoniemi Hosptial into a backup facility for seriously sick coronavirus patients, with officials saying that the site could be fully operational within a week if necessary. 

The city of Helsinki just announced that there have been cases of Covid-19 in 18 public daycares operating in the city. So far 24 employees belonging to different working groups have tested positive. Additionally, 2 kids who were cared in the daycares have tested positive. Some of the infected have already recovered. 

 A new coronavirusvaccine developed by US-based Pfizer, in collaboration with the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech, has made headlines this week. On Monday, Pfizer announced that the vaccine has an efficacy rate of over 90 percent. 

Finnish medical experts generally agree that the results of the vaccine trials are highly promising.

THE CITY OF HELSINKI HAS WARNED THAT CORONAVIRUS SAFETY MEASURES should be "stepped up" in response to a number of recent public exposure incidents, including one at Linnanmäki that occurred last week.