Finland’s Prime Minister goes to nightclub after being exposed to coronavirus

Two ministers and Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin ignored recommendations to avoid close contact with others after being exposed to the coronavirus, according to several reports in the country’s press. The case happened this weekend.

“I did wrong. I should have considered the situation more carefully,” Marin said in an interview with public broadcaster Yle on Wednesday (8).

Marin decided not to shorten Saturday night (4), even after being told she had been exposed to the coronavirus the day before, explained the prime minister in a Facebook post on Monday (6), after a magazine published a photo of her in a crowded nightclub.

Marin said he was at a restaurant when he received a call from his secretary of state reporting on the exhibit.

“He said the ministers would not be quarantined because everyone was vaccinated twice,” wrote Marin on Facebook, explaining why he decided to continue socializing.

Economy Minister Mika Lintila attended a game of floorball between Finland and Latvia on Sunday (5), although he was also advised to avoid contact with others, the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported on Wednesday.

Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen attended a dinner on Saturday, while Finance Minister Annika Saarikko and Science and Culture Minister Antti Kurvinen canceled their participation in the same event to avoid contagion, Ilta-Sanomat newspaper reported on Tuesday ( 7).

The Finnish Institute of Health recommends avoiding contact with others while waiting for Covid-19 test results.

Marin and Lintila were exposed to Covid-19 on Friday (3), at a ministerial meeting attended by Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, who, on Saturday, tested positive for the disease.

The prime minister’s office said it sent the exposed ministers two text messages on Saturday, urging them to avoid contact with others.

Marin said she had left her official phone number at home, trusting her assistants to contact her on her personal phone.

Since then, the prime minister has run two tests for Covid-19, which came back negative. The Economy Minister also tested negative.

Finland has suffered from a sudden increase in new Covid cases in recent months, causing health authorities to worry about the strain on the healthcare system.

Several hospitals across the country have postponed elective surgeries, and the government on Wednesday proposed a vaccine passport for health professionals.