Pupils holding their school-year reports in Helsinki on Saturday, 30 May 2020. The Finnish capital has reported that the resumption of in-person teaching for the last two-and-a-half weeks of the school year has led to no up-tick in the number of coronavirus infections. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto – Lehtikuva)

THE RE-OPENING of schools appears not to have resulted in an up-tick in coronavirus infections in Helsinki.

The City of Helsinki on Thursday reported that nine pupils and two staff members from eight schools across the city tested positive for the new coronavirus during the roughly two-and-a-half-week period between 14 and 30 May.

A woman wore a surgical mask in Helsinki on 14 May 2020. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)

THE FINNISH GOVERNMENT will not issue a general recommendation for the use of face masks to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, Krista Kiuru (SDP), the Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services, announced at 8pm on Wednesday.

The government nonetheless acknowledged in its informal meeting that masks can be worn to protect others in places and situations where avoiding close contact is impossible, such as public transport.

People took in the warm weather while enjoying refreshments on the outdoor terrace of Ravintola Lasipalatsi in downtown Helsinki on Monday, 1 June 2020. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto – Lehtikuva)

OVER A HALF of Finns intend to travel outside their municipality of residence this summer at least as much as in previous years, finds a survey commissioned by Uutissuomalainen.

Over two-fifths (42%) of respondents revealed that they intend to travel as usual and 13 per cent that they intend to travel more than usual in their home country this summer. Nearly a quarter of respondents, by contrast, said they intend to make fewer trips and 10 per cent they intend to make no trips inside Finland.

Ano Turtiainen’s (PS) social media behaviour will be discussed today by the Finns Party Parliamentary Group. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)

ANO TURTIAINEN (PS), a first-term Member of the Finnish Parliament from South-east Finland, has sparked controversy by tweeting a photo mocking George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man whose deaths at the hands of police has kindled widespread protests, unrest and riots in the United States.

Accompanied by the phrase ‘Pink Floud’, the now-deleted tweet contained a photo of a police officer pressing his knee against the neck of Floyd, whose face had been photo-shopped red.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) on Tuesday said traces of the new coronavirus were found in its weekly wastewater studies in Helsinki and Turku, but not in Kuopio, Oulu or Tampere. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)

THE FINNISH INSTITUTE for Health and Welfare (THL) has released the latest results of its weekly wastewater analyses in Helsinki, Kuopio, Oulu, Tampere and Turku.

THL on Tuesday reported that traces of the new coronavirus were detected in samples collected at water treatment facilities in Helsinki and Turku, but not those in Kuopio, Oulu or Tampere, between 24 and 25 May.

Martti Hetemäki, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance, gestured at the release event of the second report of his so-called exit task force in Helsinki on Monday, 1 June 2020. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto – Lehtikuva)

A TASK FORCE led by Martti Hetemäki, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance, has presented its second report outlining a way out of the social and economic crisis kindled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Hetemäki on Monday stated that, despite the risk of a second wave of infections, the government should begin preparing for aftercare and re-building without delay.

The number of couples who filed for divorce jumped by 30 per cent year-on-year over a few-week period in April in Helsinki. (Timo Jaakonaho – Lehtikuva)

THE NUMBER of divorce filings increased by roughly 30 per cent year-on-year during the coronavirus-disrupted spring in Helsinki, reveals a report published by a government-appointed expert panel.

It would be premature to draw any far-reaching conclusions based on an increase – however sharp – over only a few-week period in April, Marika Jalovaara, an adjunct professor of economic sociology at the University of Turku, reminded Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday.

Minister of Finance Katri Kulmuni (left), Prime Minister Sanna Marin (centre) and Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo (right) shed light on the Finnish government’s fourth supplementary budget of the year in a press conference in Helsinki on Tuesday, 2 June 2020. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto – Lehtikuva)

THE GOVERNMENT of Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) has unveiled its fourth supplementary budget of the year, earmarking a total of 5.5 billion euros for various purposes.

Marin on Tuesday reminded that the social and economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on the livelihood and daily lives of people, the operating preconditions of businesses, and the development of the national economy.

Almost 185,000 samples have been tested for the new coronavirus in Finland. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)

RECENT INCREASES in the number of coronavirus infections have re-kindled concerns about the epidemic situation in Finland.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has reported that the number of laboratory-confirmed coronavirus infections rose by 33 to 6,859 between Saturday and Sunday. The number was reported to have increased by 51 between Wednesday and Thursday and 64 between Tuesday and Wednesday.