The Social Democratic Party would have liked to maintain strict travel restrictions, but the center party managed to push through it, newly elected center party leader Annika Saarikko told Yle on Saturday.
Speaking on Yle TV1’s Ykkösaamu chat program, The archipelago Finland’s transition to easing travel restrictions was a decision that balanced both public health and economic aspects.
"We need to look at the whole as we make decisions," he told Yle.
Saarikko refuted criticism that the economic impact of the pandemic outweighed the public health problems in the government’s decision to facilitate travel to the country.
Even if the latest measures would not save the Finnish tourism industry, he said "all that can be done in this situation must be done".
Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä (Cen) had previously emphasized the importance of opening up society and allowing travel to save both the tourism industry and the national airline Finnair. The airline currently flies 80 to 90 daily flights, up from 350 a year earlier.
This week, Finland announced its intention to ease restrictions on the coronavirus-related country, which will take effect on 19 September. Under the new rules, visitors will have access to countries with less than 25 coronavirus infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the previous two weeks. Currently, the limit is eight / 100,000.
A new government program?
Saarikko, acting Minister of Science and Culture, told Yle that he sees no reason to rewrite the government program, arguing that Finland’s weakened economic outlook could be taken into account in future budget negotiations. Earlier this week, the SDP, including the prime minister Sanna Marin, said the government should adjust its program taking into account the impact of the pandemic on economic and employment targets.
Source: The Nordic Page