The Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, apologized to the population on Wednesday (8) for having gone to a nightclub on Saturday (4) shortly after having contact with a person infected with the coronavirus. Photos and videos of the Social Democrat in the crowded place were published by a Finnish magazine.
Marin attended a meeting with Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto on Friday (3) and a day later was informed that the chancellor had received Covid’s diagnosis. “I was wrong,” she told public broadcaster Yle Wednesday night. “I should have assessed the situation more carefully.”
She, however, was not the only one who kept social activities after contact with the infected minister. The holder of the Economy portfolio, Mika Lintila, participated in a floorball match — a kind of hockey without skates — between Finland and Latvia on Sunday (5), although he was advised to isolate himself.
Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen, meanwhile, attended a dinner on Saturday, while Finance Minister Annika Saarikko and Science and Culture Minister Antti Kurvinen canceled their presence at the same event to avoid contact with others .
Before the apology, the prime minister tried to justify the action by saying that her secretary of state, when informing her about the exposure to the virus, said that the ministers would not be quarantined because everyone had a complete immunization schedule.
Marin’s office said shortly afterwards that it had sent the folder holders two text messages on Saturday advising them to avoid contact with others. Since then, she and the other ministers have each run two tests for Covid, which have come back negative.
The Finnish Institute of Health recommends, among other things, that those who have had contact with someone infected with the coronavirus voluntarily avoid contact with other people until receiving a test result. Going to work, shops and pharmacies, or attending public events and meetings is discouraged by the agency, as it is difficult to avoid close contact in these places.
Information released by the institute on Thursday (9) show that the number of new cases and hospitalized patients has grown in the Nordic country. Nearly 9,400 new infections were reported in the week of November 29 to December 5, more than double the volume recorded between late October and early November.
The incidence of cases per 100,000 population in the last two weeks, ended on Sunday, was 315, a rate that was 242 in the two previous weeks. In the last week, 39 new patients were admitted to hospitals for intensive care, a number that ranged from 20 to 35 in the previous weeks.
Finland currently has nine confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, detected in the last month. Seven were identified in people from the same group who recently traveled to Sweden, and another two were detected in people who arrived from Nigeria and South Africa.
Approximately 73% of the country’s population received the two doses of the vaccine, and there is concern about the fact that vaccination coverage is lower among younger people. Until this Wednesday, 73% of people between 16 and 29 years old had received the second dose, a percentage that reaches 90% for those over 50 years old.
Vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years who belong to a risk group or are in contact with immunodeficient people was recommended by the Health Institute of the country on Wednesday. For now, only those over 12 years old are receiving the immunizing agent.
Sanna Marin, 36, became the world’s youngest prime minister in 2019, when she was chosen to head the country. She runs a government with a majority of women and youth: all four other parties in the ruling coalition are led by women, three of whom are also under 40 years old.
.
