Just three months ago, Finland had Europe’s lowest average of Covid-19 infections and deaths per capita, and had managed to contain local outbreaks while adhering to some of the most relaxed restrictions on the continent.
But now it faces a new wave – and the government has changed course.
On Monday, the Finnish government declared a state of emergency due to a surge in the number of cases they have attributed in part to the spread of new variants.
According to Prime Minister Sanna Marin, the country will be closed for three weeks on March 8.
In a statement, the government said:
“The number and incidence of Covid-19 cases in Finland has increased very rapidly since the beginning of February 2021. The number of infections caused by new virus variants has clearly increased, which may further accelerate the epidemic and place a significant burden on hospital and intensive patients capacity of care if we cannot reduce the number of infections. “
Last Thursday, the strictest restrictions were already introduced in seven hospital districts, including in the capital Helsinki.
Across the border Norway, officials are also tightening restrictions due to a wave of cases in the capital that Oslo City Council called “a result of imports of mutated variants of the coronavirus.”
The new virus variants are spreading faster than previous variants, ” Raymond Johansen, Oslo city councilor, said in a Sunday statement.
“This means that we now need to tighten up infection control measures in line with the recommendations of the national health authorities.
From Tuesday to March 15, the new measures in Oslo include: the closure of all restaurants, except the takeaway service; and closing all shops, except pharmacies and supermarkets / liquor stores.
From Monday, Oslo secondary school students will stay at home and on Wednesdays all schools will be run with a combination of traditional and virtual learning.
The council added that it will introduce massive testing of students with saliva samples starting March 8, and increased testing of all teachers.