Finland unveiled a traffic light model for travel guidance on Wednesday, when officials also announced that they would step up testing at the country’s main airport.
It was unveiled at a press conference on Wednesday focusing on coronavirus vigilance at the border. Officials from the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior spoke about it.
The traffic light model divides the countries into three categories: countries where the Coronavirus situation is similar or better than in Finland, slightly worse and considerably worse.
In Europe, the only countries classified as green according to the model, in addition to Finland, are Estonia, Latvia and Hungary.
- In green countries, the risk of Covid-19 infection is not significantly higher than in Finland. The prevalence of Covid-19 is below the level set by the Finnish government, which is 8-10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days. When traveling to these countries, Finnish residents are advised to follow the recommendations of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
- The risk of infection in ‘amber’ countries is higher than in Finland. Prevalence is above the government limit, 10-25 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days. It is not recommended to travel to these countries without a reason, and if passengers arrive from one of these countries, they will be asked to be isolated for two weeks.
- In the red countries, the risk of infection is considerably higher than in Finland, or the risk cannot be reliably assessed. The prevalence of Covid-19 is high, with more than 25 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and people are being asked to avoid traveling to these countries. If people arrive from the red state, they are asked to be quarantined voluntarily for two weeks.
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Mika Salminen The THL director reminded the public that the traffic light model was only indicative and should not be confused with government decisions to open or close borders.
Officials can still make individual decisions about health checks and mandatory quarantine regulations at the border.
“The goal of the model is to ensure that people traveling are “one stop shop” see what the risk is in the destination country and what they should do to return to Finland,” Salminen said THL will update the rating likely every week.
Finland’s state of error is limited because, according to the Constitution, Finnish citizens always have the right to return to the country and everyone has the right to leave the country, unless this right is specifically restricted by law.
The THL said last week that more than half of the new infections came from abroad, and the government also tightened travel restrictions.
There are ten cases found in airport testing
The import cases set the political agenda in August when flights to Turku from Skopje, northern Macedonia, brought out a large number of passengers who later showed a positive Covid-19 test.
The Turku authorities quickly began testing people on these flights.
The deputy mayor of Vantaa, Finland’s busiest airport, also spoke at a press conference about how his municipal health care workers have intensified testing at the airport.
“We have quickly set up health advice points and set up an arrival testing center that works 24 hours a day,” said Timo Aronkytรถ. “Health authorities are increasingly directing results from high-risk countries for testing.”
“We have the ability to double or triple our testing capacity. In addition, we do mass testing.”
Aronkytรถ explained that โmass testingโ refers to testing everyone who arrives at certain aircraft. For example, everyone who lands at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Romania is tested.
The tests have been voluntary, but almost everyone who arrived on these planes has agreed to test.
There is a doctor on the spot who discusses the matter with all the planes that refuse to test and two of the 350 arrivals from Romania who were tested were found to be Covid positive.
Aronkytรถ said that on Wednesday, two mass machines were in the target group, one from Frankfurt and one from Malaga. Officials planned to do the same with the plane coming from Istanbul, which is scheduled to arrive on Thursday.
“On Mondays, we always decide which machines are tested as “mass”,” said Aronkytรถ. “If the situation worsens, it is always possible to increase testing. The amount will be decided on the basis of the epidemiological situation and the number of flights.
By Lasse Ilkka About ten positive tests have been performed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health at Helsinki-Vantaa. In total, about 2,000 tests have been performed.
Source: The Nordic Page