The Finnish government can be expected to announce its decision on whether to lift the quarantine in the country's most populous region of Uusimaa on Tuesday, state media in Finland reported, citing officials in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th April, 2020) The Finnish government can be expected to announce its decision on whether to lift the quarantine in the country's most populous region of Uusimaa on Tuesday, state media in Finland reported, citing officials in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
Uusimaa has been closed since March 28. The quarantine is set to expire on April 19 unless the government asks parliament for an extension and provides reasoning for its decision.
According to the Yle public broadcaster, the government's decision will depend on a memo that is currently being prepared by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.
Yle quoted the ministry's permanent secretary, Kirsi Varhila, as vowing to deliver the memo on Monday and then changing the due date to Tuesday.
Given that parliament will take at least two working days to consider the matter, Yle said the government would have to act quickly after receiving the memo if it wants the extension to be approved by Thursday in order to avoid re-opening and then a rapid re-closing the border, which would put a further strain on police and other officials.
Uusimaa, which is where the Finnish capital city of Helsinki and two of the other three biggest cities - Espoo and Vantaa - are located, is home to approximately 1.7 million people.
Among the 3,064 total COVID-19 cases in Finland, 1,924 have been detected in Uusimaa.
