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.
Police find corpse in Helsinki Park
Police discovered the body of an unidentified middle-aged man inside a storm drain at the Pikku-Huopalahti park in Helsinki on Thursday. Authorities were notified about the body at 11 am on the same morning.
The discovery has shocked residents of the neighbourhood, particularly since the drain is located close to a daycare centre. Police are yet to identify the cause of death. Investigations are on, with more information expected next week.
Over 100 people quarantined in Jyväskylä
More than a 100 people in Jyväskylä, West Finland will have to undergo quarantine for 10 days due to potential exposure to the coronavirus.
Those at risk visited the Kilpisen Yhtenäiskoulu (comprehensive school), where more than one infected person is thought to have attended school on Monday.
Customer disputes in stores on the rise during lockdown
Stores across Finland have seen a marked increase in instances of inappropriate customer behaviour and aggression towards sales staff in recent months. Additionally, store employees have had to intervene in disputes between customers on a number of occasions.
In an interview with Iltalehti, Erika Kähärä, Occupational Health and Safety Advisor at Service Union United (PAM)—a trade union for people working in private service sectors—stated that the organisation has received a growing number of complaints from the retail sector since the lockdown began.
While inappropriate conduct from retail customers was already a trend before the pandemic, the added pressures of the lockdown have culminated in increasingly aggressive and irritable behaviour.
Thousands of pets abandoned in Finland every year
A shocking number of Finns have been cruelly casting aside their pets, leaving them to the mercy of the street. Tens of thousands of abandoned pets end up at animal shelters every year.
Some believe that Finland is close to facing something of a cat crisis, as cats make up the majority of abandoned pets. According to the Finnish Federation for the Animal Welfare Associations, 20,000 cats are abandoned in Finland annually. Most of these are popular breeds.
Careless owners allow pets to wander out on their own and cats that are not neutered or spayed often breed in secret, adding to the burgeoning population on the streets.
Tahira Sequeira
Helsinki Times
