FINNAIR HAS ANNOUNCED THAT it will be suspending all flights to Mainland China throughout February, with no flights running to the country between 6-29 February. The carrier cited concerns over the impact of the Wuhan Coronavirus as the reason for the decision. 

SOME FINNISH SUPERMARKET CHAINS HAVE REPORTED A TENFOLD increase in the sale of personal face masks over the course of the past few days, following reports over the weekend that THL will be recommending the use of face masks in public spaces.

AT A GOVERNMENT PRESS CONFERENCE THIS EVENING, PM Sanna Marin announced that all gatherings of more than 500 people will be prohibited until at least 31 July, meaning that all summer festivals scheduled to take place before then are effectively cancelled.

THE FINNISH GOVERNMENT HAS ANNOUNCED TODAY that it will be ending a number of recommendations and restrictions that are currently in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, most of which concern teleworking and people over the age of 70. 

FINLAND'S INTERIOR MINISTER HAS TAKEN TO TWITTER TO RECOMMEND the wearing of face masks among the general public, saying that masks should be worn in any space where a physical distance to other people cannot be maintained

THE LATEST DATA ON COVID-19 INFECTIONS IN FINLAND has revealed that a number of municipalities that are on the border with Sweden now have some of the highest rates of infection per 100,000 people in the country, with several places having higher rates than the capital region. 

PRIME MINISTER SANNA MARIN HAS TAKEN TO TWITTER to remind people that there remains a risk of coronavirus "escalating again" and the "restrictions can be reintroduced" at any time if the spread of the disease worsens. 

Local headlines today featured a dead body that was found in a storm drain close to a daycare centre in Helsinki. In Jyväskylä, more than a 100 people have been advised to undergo quarantine after being potentially exposed to the coronavirus at a school. 

In other news, the pandemic has led to increasing instances of aggression and misbehaviour among retail customers, while Finland could be on the verge of an abandoned pet crisis. 

THE FINNISH TAX ADMINISTRATION HAS ANNOUNCED THIS AFTERNOON that the cost of face masks purchased for commuting to work and protecting others in the workplace will be tax-deductible. 

The COVID- 19 virushas been spreading at an alarming rate among Finland’s armed forces. Many attribute the rising number of cases to the lack of preventive measures in garrisons, where there are often no provisions for quarantining infected soldiers.

The number of infections among children below the age of 10 has also increased significantly. This is likely attributed to the highly contagious British variant of the virus, which has been spreading rapidly in Finland since December.  

According toUNICEF’sThe State of the World's Children 2021report, the harmful effects of COVID-19 on the mental health and wellbeing of children is only the “tip of the iceberg.”

Thereport states that globally, over one in seven children aged 10–17 suffers from a mental illness, with disorders in young people leading to estimated losses in terms of contribution to economies of nearly $390 billion a year. 

The Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) has reported an alarming rise in the number of hospitalisations due to the COVID-19 virus.Kirsi Varhila, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health,told Yle that she believes the country has lifted restrictions too early. 

Finland has followed in the footsteps of Sweden and Denmark and limited the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The country will stop administering the vaccine to men below the age of 30 due to a rare side effect. 

Southwest Finlandcurrently has more COVID-19 patients in intensive care than ever before during the pandemic. A staggering 90 percent of patients in the ICU are reportedly unvaccinated.

The coronavirus coordination group of Southwest Finland has stated that the situation is worrying, as the number of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalisation and intensive care has reached a critical level. 

THE GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS HAS REVEALED plans to open up the country to leisure travelers from Finland without restriction from tomorrow.

Koronavilkku, The Finnish Coronavirus contact tracing app can now be downloaded in English in addition to the original Finnish and Swedish languages. The app which was first rolled out in the beginning of September was downloaded by over 1.8 million people in the first week. More than two third of Finns have now downloaded the app which is available for IOS and Android mobile devices. 

THE RATE OF NEW CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS IN ESTONIA HAS RISEN beyond the figure that is considered safe in the Finnish government's travel regulations, heightening the risk that travel restrictions could be reintroduced between the two countries. 

ONE OF THE MOST STRIKING REVELATIONS of COVID-19 has been the huge disparities between how different, seemingly similar countries and their respective citizens have coped with the virus. Within the European Union, member states that share borders, such as Finland and Sweden, have had vastly divergent experiences with the coronavirus.

It was only a couple of weeks ago when the Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin, accompanied by Minister of Social Affairs and Health Aino-Kaisa Pekonen,Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru, and Minister of Finance Katri Kulmuni marched into a press conference and announced that there is no epidemic in Finland and not much needed to be done. At the time, there were only two confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country. 

Statistics indicatethat the COVID- 19 vaccination rate in Finland has declined significantly over summer. While the pace picked up quickly when inoculations began earlier this year, the overall number of shots given in the country has now dropped below the EU/EEA (European Economic Area) average.

Ilta-Sanomatreports that Finland’s vaccination rate has fallen by 16 per cent since the beginning of summer, even decreasing by over 50 per cent in certain regions. On an average, around 50,000 fewer vaccines were given per week at the end of July compared to the first week of June.

Back in March, Finland avoided high infection and mortality rates from Covid 19 by going into an almost total shutdown. The government temporarily adopted existing emergency laws and among other measures, ordered the closure of the country’s borders, restaurants, and schools, limited public gatherings, and encouraged everyone who can work from home to do so.