Whereas the length of quarantine of such passengers has also been extended from 10 days to 14 days in order to prepare for the possibility that the recently discovered coronavirus variant has a longer incubation period; he added, according to Helsingin Sanomat. The final decision on quarantine is always made in the presence of a doctor responsible for infectious diseases on the board.
Quarantine prescribed by a doctor entitles a quarantine person to sickness benefit for an infectious disease.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) has suspended passenger flights from the United Kingdom to Finland until 11 January. The decision was made on the basis of THL’s opinion.
Passengers in the UK and South Africa have both been urged to be tested for the coronavirus, even though they have no symptoms. The THL has taken a stronger position in this regard and is currently recommending that people from all countries be tested for the virus.
Although the English variant of the virus is not known to be more dangerous to the carrier, it has been shown to be more contagious than the older variant. The latest data also show that, according to Puumalainen, the age distribution of those infected with the new variant does not differ from that of the older variant.
The new variant thus does not seem to spread more easily among children or young people, but infects people of all ages.
So far, 17 mutations caused by the mutation-induced coronavirus have been detected in Finland, most of which are related to travel in the United Kingdom. Puumalainen revealed that a further 14 positive samples are being analyzed and are believed to contain a new variant because they gave people who had been in close contact with the variant carriers.
“On the plus side, we’ve been able to investigate these cases and people’s close contacts very thoroughly,” he said.
On Thursday, the Finnish government also decided to maintain internal border control for another month until 9 February. The classification of so-called high-risk countries remains unchanged, with at least 25 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over the last two weeks. At the same time, entry restrictions at the external borders will be returned to Japanese and South Korean citizens arriving in Finland on Monday, January 11, 2021.
The government further recommends that people avoid all unnecessary trips abroad except to countries that are not subject to travel restrictions.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT