The Finnish Trade Union Confederation has announced that it will instruct retail operators to use face shields based on the health authorities’ three-step action plan to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
According to the tabloid Evening paper, the union has said that retail staff in areas undergoing an epidemic are recommended to wear a face mask if they are not behind a plexiglass cover or wear face visors. Those working in non-client areas do not need to wear face masks.
In areas in the application phase, it is recommended that those working in the retail area of each store wear face shields.
According to the trade union’s own estimates, the hospital districts of Helsinki and Uusimaa, Kanta-Häme, Pirkanmaa, Southwest Finland and Southern Ostrobothnia are currently in the acceleration phase. The Vaasa Hospital District has reported that it is in a more serious stage of spread.
Lauri Kulonen, a federation expert said some member companies have introduced face masks as a recommendation, while others have mandated their use. He added that if employers require the use of face shields, they have to pay for them.
With regard to supermarkets in the Helsinki metropolitan area, the S Group’s HOK-Elanto and the retail giant Kesko Group have already given a face-to-face mandate to all employees. The supermarket chain Lidl has given recommendations on the use of masks to both staff and customers.
The chief of Vaasa is suspected of a billing scandal
The papers were full of news Markku Eronen, Chief of Vaasa Central Hospital, who is suspected of producing unfounded mental health check bills worth approximately EUR 212,000 for at least 10 years.
The National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has requested an inquiry into the matter, which Yle first reported on.
These bills relate to counseling fees for psychiatric mental health examinations by non-hospital doctors on a daily basis Helsingin sanomat newspaper.
When there are not enough doctors in the house, an external doctor is hired as a contract employee for a mental health check-up. The fee for an external doctor for a mental health examination is about 2,500 euros Jukka Kärkkäinen, Head of THL and Chairman of the Board of the Hospital.
Because Eronen is a hospital doctor, she would have been entitled to her own psychiatrist’s fee of about 250 euros. He is suspected of being billed for seeing an outside doctor ten times the price.
Eronen resigned as medical director in January, but has continued as chief physician. He has previously been suspected of unjustified travel bills of € 27,000, which are currently being investigated by the police as gross fraud.
The celebrity turns 16 years old
Mikko Meriahven, celebrity fish in the Sea Life aquarium in Linnanmäki amusement park, turned 16 this week, tabloid Evening News reported.
In honor of the famous sea bass milestone, the aquarium staff designed a surprise program for Mikko and he was also offered a fish-friendly birthday cake.
Bass has made headlines on several occasions in recent years. Last December, it was reported that Mikko swallowed a 35 cm bottle brush he grabbed from the staff, and the extraction of the brush required surgery. It hasn’t always been an easy life because the sea bass once sank into a state of depression after eating a red lionfish that was his aquarium buddy.
Mikko still receives a lot of fan mail from all over Finland – and letters of admiration are on display in his aquarium. His birthday is celebrated at Sea Life all week.
Source: The Nordic Page