The remote work recommendation is back on the government’s table only days after it was lifted, says Aino-Kaisa Pekonen (Left Alliance), the Minister of Social Affairs and Health. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)

THE GOVERNMENT of Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) will re-examine the need for its recommendation on remote work in light of the recent increase in coronavirus infections, tells Aino-Kaisa Pekonen (Left Alliance), the Minister of Social Affairs and Health.

“The increase in infection numbers gives reason to examine the need to continue remote work at workplaces where it’s possible,” she outlined on Twitter on Wednesday.

A mailbox by a rural road in Sotkamo, Kainuu, on 5 July 2020. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)

THE CONCERNS AND UNCERTAINTY kindled by the coronavirus epidemic have resulted in a surge in the number of people moving away from urban toward rural regions in Finland, reports Helsingin Sanomat.

Experts pointed to the phenomenon as a possibility already as the country was witnessing the peak of the first wave of infections in April.

A woman covered her mouth and nose with a mask on a bus in Helsinki on 26 June 2020. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)

MIKA SALMINEN, the director of health security at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), says THL intends to recommend that Finland encourage the use of face coverings in public spaces and on public transport to slow down the spread of the new coronavirus.

“Yes, it’s very possible it’ll be issued. We’ll talk about this immediately at the start of the week,” he revealed last weekend in interviews with MTV and YLE.

A total of 12 people were detained last weekend on probable cause of murder by the District Court of Helsinki. (Mikko Stig – Lehtikuva)

A TOTAL OF 12 PEOPLE were detained last weekend on probable cause of murder by the District Court of Helsinki.

The murder is believed to have taken place in Helsinki between Tuesday, 28 July, and Wednesday, 29 July, with the police bringing each of the 12 suspects into custody during the course of Wednesday.

Finns should be able to download and install an app for tracing contacts with coronavirus carriers in September, according to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). (Olivia Ranta – Lehtikuva)

THE FINNISH INSTITUTE for Health and Welfare (THL) has announced the test use of a mobile app designed to identify people who have been exposed to the new coronavirus will begin on Tuesday, 4 August.

The app enables people to contain the spread of the virus and protect themselves and others by facilitating the efforts of authorities to identify exposures and break chains of transmission.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has estimated that the reproduction number of the new coronavirus has risen to 0.85–1.05 in Finland. (Olivia Ranta – Lehtikuva)

THE FINNISH INSTITUTE for Health and Welfare (THL) says in its weekly report on the so-called composite strategy to combat the new coronavirus that new infections that have likely originated abroad have been detected in Finland.

Some of the cases and chains of transmission have been traced to Sweden, according to THL.

Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) currently expects its fare revenue to fall about 30 per cent short of expectations in 2020. (Hanna Matikainen – Lehtikuva)

THE FINANCIAL STRUGGLES of Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) may result in increases in fares, cuts in services or increases in municipal contributions, tells Jonne Virtanen, the director of route network and timetable planning at HSL.

“I’m certain that all of the said options will be on the table when the time comes to make the decisions,” he confirmed on Sunday.

Food prices in Finland have crept up by over two per cent since the beginning of the year, but not necessarily because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Olivia Ranta – Lehtikuva)

THE CONSUMER PRICES of food have risen to their highest levels in some time during the coronavirus-disrupted first half of the year in Finland.

Statistics Finland’s consumer price index shows that the consumer prices of grocery items and non-alcohol beverages crept up by 2.4 per cent year-on-year between May and June. Food prices have thereby risen by 1.8 per cent since the beginning of the year.

A man working from his home in Helsinki on 28 July 2020. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)

THE MAJORITY of Finns have had enough of teleworking and are eager to return from their makeshift home offices to the hustle and bustle of the workplace, finds a survey by YLE.

YLE on Thursday revealed that 58 per cent of respondents said they would like to return to the workplace because the coronavirus situation has improved, whereas almost a quarter (23%) said they are reluctant to return to the workplace because of concerns about the epidemic.