NATIONAL COALITION MP WILLE RYDMAN IS BEING INVESTIGATED by the Lapland Border Guard after a social media post in which he claimed to have entered Sweden illegally during a hiking trip caused widespread ire. 

Mobidiag Ltd. announced yesterday that it has received emergency use authorisation in Finland for its Amplidiag® COVID-19 molecular diagnostic test for the rapid detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The Amplidiag® COVID-19 is now available for use in Finland*. The test will be run for routine use at the main clinical laboratories in Finland (Helsinki University Hospital (Huslab), SYNLAB and Mehiläinen) doubling Finnish testing capacity and allowing testing coverage for most of the country. 

The tracing app that has been under development for months is finally ready and can be downloaded from application stores.

Koronavilkku is a contact tracing app produced by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) to help you find out whether you may have been exposed to coronavirus. If you have a coronavirus test and are diagnosed as infected, you can use the app to share this anonymously with those you have been in close contact with. Your privacy is strongly protected.

When a cruise ship sinks in the ocean or an airliner crashes and the causes are examined retrospectively, human error turns out to be the most common cause of the disaster. Someone pushed the wrong button, miscommunicated, slept on his watch, missed the signs or misunderstood or disobeyed instructions.   

In our Titanic today, that navigator, who doesn’t believe in maps and thinks the best way forward is right through the iceberg, seems to be Mr Mika Salminen, The director of health safety at Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

TOP RESEARCHERS AT AALTO UNIVERSITY, VTT, THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI, AND THE FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE have joined forces to conduct joint research into the airborne origins of the Covid-19 virus, in the hopes of determining the best ways to reduce its spread. 

A WOMAN IN HELSINKI HAS TESTED POSITIVE for the novel coronavirus, becoming the first recorded case in the Finnish capital, reports Yle. The patient is believed to have contracted the virus during a recent trip to Northern Italy, a region that this week has seen a large spike in cases. 

AUTHORITIES IN THE AUTONOMOUS REGION of the Åland Islands have confirmed the first coronavirus cases in the area, with two people so far testing positive for the Covid-19 virus that has spawned over 500 confirmed cases on the Finnish mainland. Meanwhile, THL have confirmed the first death from the virus in Finland. 

THE SO-CALLED 'TEDDY BEAR CHALLENGE', which aims to keeps kids active and entertained during the Covid-19 shutdown that has put a halt to normal life for most children, has found popularity in Finland after the trend began in the US.

THE ICONIC KOLMEN SEPÄN STATUE in central Helsinki has been given a makeover to reflect the unusual times we find ourselves living in, as well as some messages of support for those who are struggling to cope with the new realities brought on by the spread of the Covid-19 virus. 

FINNISH AUTHORITIES ARE WORKING WITH A COMPANY to provide accommodation for Finns returning from abroad who cannot self-isolate safely, with a number of apartments near Helsinki-Vantaa Airport being repurposed for the task. 

THE FINNISH GOVERNMENT HAS ANNOUNCED THAT IT WILL BE REINTRODUCING travel restrictions on those arriving from The Netherlands, Belgium, and Andorra following an increase in the rate of new infections in those countries.

Finnish policehave reported increasing instances of quarantine violations across the country. Several people have breached regulations by leaving their homes and interacting with individuals outside their own household. 

Breaking quarantine is currently an offence that is punishable by law. Violating the order could lead to a heavy fine or a sentence of maximum three months in prison (regardless of whether anyone other than the individual has been infected).  

The Finnish government suddenly woke up last Monday and implemented severe measures against the spread of Covid-19. Schools and borders are closed, all non-essential gatherings of more than ten people are forbidden, and the elderly and chronically ill were put in a high level of isolation. Most importantly, after a period of losing count, testing is to be ramped up.

AS FAMILIES, WORKERS, AND BUSINESSES in Finland continue to reel from the social and economic fallout from COVID-19, it is becoming increasingly clear that insurance companies in Finland may not be able to cover losses incurred as a result of the pandemic.

HELSINKI'S FINLANDIA HALL HAS BEEN ILLUMINATED in blue to pay tribute to healthcare workers and other people in Finland working in critical sectors during the COVID-19 crisis. The mayor of Helsinki Jan Vapaavuori tweeted that the illuminations would take place every Saturday night from now on. 

THE ICONIC 'STONEMASON' CARVINGS THAT LINE THE FACADE OF HELSINKI'S CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION have received a coronavirus-friendly makeover, with VR, the national railway company, providing each figure with a giant face mask.

With the first wave of coronavirus having receded into history, Finns are partying like there’s no tomorrow. But thereis a tomorrow—it’s called autumn—and once again it’s time to pay attention to the pandemic that isn’t going away.

July 1^st was an ordinary summer day. In midafternoon, I walked a couple of kilometers to meet a friend at a wine bar in Kamppi. When it started to drizzle, everyone who had been sitting on the terrace fled to the bar’s intimate interior. It was still raining when we finished our wine, and I decided to take a tram home.

FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC HIT FINLAND, the number of new confirmed cases is higher in the rest of the country that it is in Uusimaa, a drastic departure from Finland's COVID-19 experience that has previously seen the vas majority of cases confined to the capital region. 

SLIGHTLY OVER A YEARhas now passed since the parliamentary elections. Who would have thought last spring that discussions around the world would today be dominated by a single topic? The coronavirus epidemic and how countries are able to get back on their feet from the virus that has paralysed the entire world. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new coronavirus as a global pandemic on 11 March 2020.

Young peoplecould be more vulnerable to a new mutation of the COVID-19 virus, according to the Helsinki University Hospital (HUS).

Asko Järvinen, head of infectious diseases at HUS, told Ilta Sanomat that Finland has seen a surge in cases of the highly contagious new variant, which was first detected in the UK.