COVID-19 pandemic in Finland

On 29 January, Finland confirmed its first case of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).[11] A 32-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan sought medical attention in Ivalo and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. She had travelled from Wuhan. She was quarantined at Lapland Central Hospital in Rovaniemi.[12][1][13][2] The woman recovered and was discharged on 5 February after testing negative on two consecutive days.[14]

On 30 January, Finland's health officials estimated that up to 24 people may have been exposed to the virus.[15]

By 5 February, three of the potentially exposed individuals were known to have left the country, and fourteen of the remaining 21 had been placed in quarantine and were expected to be released over the following weekend.[14]

On 26 February, Finland's health officials confirmed the second case, a Finnish woman, who made a trip to Milan and was back in Finland on 22 February, tested positive at the Helsinki University Central Hospital.[16]

On 28 February, a Finnish woman who had travelled to Northern Italy, tested positive by the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District and was advised to remain in home isolation.[17][18]

On 1 March, three new cases—associates of the woman diagnosed with the virus on 28 February—were confirmed in the Helsinki region. They were instructed to remain in isolation at home. This brought the total number of infections diagnosed in Finland to five.[19][20] Later that day, 130 people, including students at Helsinki University’s Viikki teacher training school, were placed in quarantine after having been in close contact with one of the diagnosed.[21]

On 5 March, five new cases were confirmed: three in Uusimaa, one in Pirkanmaa and one in Tavastia Proper. One of the cases in Uusimaa, a working age woman, is associated with the earlier cases in the Helsinki region. The other cases, two working age men, had travelled northern Italy. All of the patients were in good health and were advised to stay at home. The case in Tavastia Proper is a child of a Hämeenlinna family that recently visited northern Italy. The family has been in voluntary home quarantine after the trip and nobody else is known to have been in close contact with the patient. The case in Pirkanmaa, a 44-year-old woman is also in home quarantine and in good health. Three people have been in close contact with her. This brought the total number of confirmed cases in Finland to twelve.[22]

On 6 March, the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), announced that four new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the country, bringing the total number of infections to 19.[23]

On 8 March, THL confirmed four new cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections to 23.[24]

On 9 March, 10 more cases were reported, of which 3 in Helsinki and 7 in other regions, increasing the number of infections to 33.[25]

On 11 March, 19 new cases were reported, including 10 in Uusimaa region, three in Pirkanmaa, one in Central Finland, one in Tavastia Proper in Forssa, one in South Karelia, one in South Ostrobothnia and one in Southwest Finland.[26]

On 12 March, 50 new cases were reported. An employee at the Helsinki-Uusimaa Hospital district (HUS) has tested positive for novel coronavirus.[27]

On 13 March, according to THL, Finland became close to the epidemic threshold as the total confirmed cases increased to 156.[28] Several regions in Finland start to limit laboratory testing of suspected coronavirus cases based on importance criteria.[29] THL instructs the public not to contact health care providers and stay at home for mild symptoms.[30]

On 15 March, The Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district (HUS) decided people returning to Finland from trips abroad will not necessarily be tested for novel coronavirus.[31]

On 16 March, the Finnish Government, jointly with the President of Finland, declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19.[32] 272 laboratory-confirmed cases caused by COVID-19 had been diagnosed in Finland by 16 March 2020 at 2 pm.[33] The head of THL, Markku Tervahauta, told MTV3 that the actual number of COVID-19 cases might be 20—30 times higher than what had been confirmed by testing, due to the fact that testing was limited to risk groups, the severely ill, and healthcare workers.[34]

On 16 March, the Government also announced they had decided to take the following measures by issuing a decree on implementing the Emergency Powers Act. The measures were scheduled to be in place until 13 April, after approval by the Parliament of Finland, but were later extended to 13 May:[35][36][37][38]

• All schools will be closed, not including early education.
• Most government-run public facilities (theatres, libraries, museums etc.) will be shut down.
• Critical personnel will be exempted from the Working Hours Act and Annual Holidays Act, both in the private and public sector.
• At most 10 people can participate in a public meeting, and people over the age of 70 should avoid human contact if possible.
• Outsiders are forbidden from entering healthcare facilities and hospitals, excluding relatives of critically ill people and children.
• The capacity of social and healthcare will be increased in the private and public sector, while less critical activity will be decreased.
• Preparations for the shutdown of borders will start, and citizens or permanent residents returning to Finland will be placed under a 2-week quarantine.

THL considers the figure given by the Finnish Infectious Diseases Register as the official figure, and on 19 March, 304 of the confirmed cases had been reported to the register.[39][33] The following day, approximately 450 cases had been confirmed in the country.[3] The highest number of cases have been identified in the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district in southern Finland.

Finnish military personnel and police force at one of the border checkpoints on regional road 167 in Myrskylä. The picture was taken one day after Parliament voted to close the borders of Uusimaa region.

The first death, an elderly individual who lived in the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district, who had died a day earlier, was reported on 21 March.[40]

On 23 March, it was reported that former president Martti Ahtisaari had contracted the disease. His wife the former first lady, Eeva Ahtisaari, was confirmed to have the disease on Saturday 21 March.[41]

On 27 March, the Parliament voted unanimously to temporarily close the borders of the Uusimaa region, which has the most confirmed cases, in hopes of slowing down the epidemic in the rest of the country. The restriction came into force the following midnight. Uusimaa has 1.7 million inhabitants, nearly one third of Finland's total population, and contains the capital city Helsinki. Travel to and from Uusimaa was prohibited without a valid reason and several hundred police officers were enforcing the restriction with the assistance of the Finnish Defence Forces.[42]

On 15 April travel restrictions between Uusimaa region and the rest of the country were lifted.[43]

On 4 May the government decided on a schedule to lift some of the restrictions. Libraries are to be opened for borrowing right away.

On 14 May kindergartens and elementary schools are to return to normal education, and limits on other educational institutions are lifted. Also, international work trips within the Schengen Area will be allowed, and outdoor sports venues will be allowed to open, both with some limitations.

On 1 June, the maximum number of people allowed to meet was increased to 50, eating at restaurants and sports competitions was allowed, both "with special arrangements", and public indoor places were opened gradually.[44]

According to a government decision on 11 June, from 15 June on, travellers entering from the Baltic countries and the other Nordic countries except Sweden will no longer have to stay quarantined for two weeks. Other international travel restrictions remain as they are. From 1 July onwards outdoor events with more than 500 people will be allowed in cases it's possible to keep a safe distance between people. [45]

Prime Minister Sanna Marin, alongside other representatives of the Finnish Government, declared a state of emergency in the nation on 16 March 2020.

On 16 March, the Finnish Government, in cooperation with the President of Finland, declared a state of emergency in the country. A list of measures intended to slow down the spreading of the virus and to protect at-risk groups were implemented in accordance with the Emergency Powers Act (1552/2011), the Communicable Diseases Act (1227/2016), and other legislation. The measures include the closing of schools (excluding early education) and most government-run public facilities, limiting public gatherings, and closing the country's borders. The restrictions were scheduled to last until 13 April,[46] but in late March they were extended to 13 May.[38]

On 20 March, the government announced a €15 billion support package to aid businesses and individuals suffering from the economic slowdown resulting from the virus. This was a €10 billion increase to a previous support package, announced 16 March. Among the presented changes was a 2.6% decrease in employee pension payments until the end of 2020.[47]

On 25 March, the government decided to restrict movement between the Uusimaa region and the rest of Finland.[48][49] However, people were allowed to move between regions due to job requirement or for compelling personal reasons. The proposal also did not affect cargo or freight transportation.[50] On 15 April, movement restrictions between Uusimaa and the rest of the country were removed.[51]

Following the WHO declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, Finnish shops temporarily ran out of toilet paper.

Similar to other countries, the emergence of the virus has increased sales and stockpiling of daily goods, such as groceries and hygiene products. Fears of quarantine and potential shortages has led to panic buying, particularly of canned goods, hand sanitiser, and toilet paper.[52] On 15 March 2020, the Central Finnish Cooperative Society (S-Group subsidiary) reported an estimated two to three times as many visitors as usual.[53] Kesko reported similar increases.[53] The practice of self-isolation has also increased demand for online grocers.[53]

In conjunction with the government many companies have ramped up in a short amount time, roughly in 2 months, production of different equipment, such as respirators etc. for the healthcare system. The Government is also preparing to keep domestic production after the crisis, so that in the future there will be availability from the start of the crisis. This is because of problems in the global supply.[54] There are also other private companies retooling to produce products for the healthcare sector and consumer market on their own initiative.[55]

Below is the breakdown of confirmed cases in all 21 hospital districts of Finland (as of 8th May 2020).[10]

Hospital district	Total confirmed cases	Cases per 100 000 people
Helsinki and Uusimaa	4,057	240,6
Southwest Finland	300	62,2
Pirkanmaa	245	47,6
Central Finland	128	50,6
North Ostrobothnia	129	31,5
Northern Savonia	127	52,0
Länsi-Pohja[lower-alpha 2]	133	220,6
Tavastia Proper	99	57,9
Päijänne Tavastia	82	39,0
Lapland[lower-alpha 2]	70	59,9
Kainuu	63	87,1
Satakunta	53	24,5
Ostrobothnia (Vaasa)	51	30,1
Southern Savonia[lower-alpha 3]	48	48,6
South Ostrobothnia	38	19,7
Kymenlaakso	40	24,3
North Karelia	24	14,6
South Karelia	17	13,3
Central Ostrobothnia	13	16,8
Åland Islands	19	67,8
Itä-Savo (lit. 'Eastern Savonia')[lower-alpha 3]	10	24,8

Below is a list of confirmed transmissions by sample date, as recorded by the Finnish Institute for Health and Wellness (THL)[56]

The Finnish National Emergency Supply Agency (Huoltovarmuuskeskus or HVK) attempted hastened purchase of masks near the end of March.[57] This led to a widely reported scandal that resulted in the resignation and firing of a number of people at HVK.[58][59][60][61][62][63] Consulting company Deloitte was later hired to find out what had happened.[58] Then in charge of the primary production department, Jyrki Hakola told Deloitte that businessman Onni Sarmaste approached him as a representative of Tiina Jylhä's Estonian cosmetic surgery company The Look Medical Care OÜ[64] offering the sale of protective equipment. Jylhä is a former reality TV personality who has a criminal record that includes aggravated debtor's dishonesty, tax evasion, numerous accounting crimes, and at the time was being charged with aggravated doping crime, all of which had been publicly reported in the press,[65] while Sarmaste also has a long criminal record that includes assault, making threats, resisting arrest and drunk driving.[66] On the phone Sarmaste explained that he's got medical grade masks in China and to prove the quality he sent over certificates and other documentation. After the negotiations with Sarmaste, the next day The Look Medical Care issued an order confirmation to Hakola. However the day after that Hakola received two pro forma bills for approximately five million euros each from both Jylhä's The Look Medical Care and Sarmaste's LDN Legal Partners. Hakola inquired from Sarmaste and a representative of The Look Medical Care about which company should the transaction be continued with. Hakola says The Look Medical Care didn't respond but Sarmaste responded on the phone that the payment should be to his LDN Legal Partners. Sarmaste said that the payment should be done to a Belgian money transfer service, for that way it can be delivered to China quickly. He also said that paying the Estonian company there was a risk the money couldn't be moved to China quickly enough. Hakola confirmed the deal with Sarmaste in an email and cancelled the agreement with The Look Medical Care.[58]

On March 30 HVK paid LDN Legal Partners a sum of 4 980 000 euros. The bill was fact-verified by Hakola and confirmed by then administrative director Asko Harjula and chief executive officer Tomi Lounema. The next day Sarmaste called Hakola and reported that the payment done to the Belgian money transfer service had been frozen. In the same instance Sarmaste asked for the payment to be instead done to his other company Finance Group Helsinki's Finnish bank account. The first payment done to the Belgian service hadn't been returned yet, but Sarmaste assured that it would happen. As proof he showed documentation from the money transfer service TransferWise. It was brought to the attention of Hakola and Harjula that Sarmaste's Finance Group Helsinki had at least 10 000 euros in tax liabilities. Concerning this, Deloitte was told by Hakola that he contemplated the matter and then resolved to make the payment regardless of the liabilities and the previous payment still not having returned. Harjula agreed to it. HVK again paid 4 980 000 euros to Finance Group Helsinki on March 31, and the Belgian payment then happened to return only an hour later. The delivery of the equipment had been agreed in the fashion that LDN Legal Partners would deliver them to Guangzhou Airport, with HVK then handling the flight to take them over to Finland themselves. The products were to be brought all at once on April 1. However the Finnair charter flight had to be rescheduled twice because of Sarmaste asking them to wait as the manufacture of the products hadn't yet been finished.[58]

Jylhä's The Look Medical Care had in the meanwhile been contacting Hakola multiple times, offering new agreements. They ended up reaching a deal where the free space on the plane would be used for Jylhä's equipment. The company again handed over a pro forma bill for 5 130 000 euros on April 2. The payment would be done in two halves, first an advance payment and then after that the rest when the order was ready to be loaded to the plane. The bill had been signed by Jylhä. Hakola approved that order in the morning. Later in the day an expert from Hansel Ltd. reported that Jylhä's company had no VAT identification number or credit rating. This was reported to both Hakola and Harjula. Nevertheless HVK paid 2 655 000 euros to an Estonian bank account of The Look Medical Care. On April 3 CEO Lounema announced publicly that there had been 11 planes worth of protective equipment ordered to Finland. Following this, the delivery was finally set to be done on April 6 as the flights couldn't be rescheduled more. Only a portion of the equipment promised by Sarmaste was delivered. On April 8 VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland found in their tests that the masks received weren't fit for hospital use (later on April 22 MTV reported that they had in fact been manufactured at a handbag factory by Guangzhou Jingpeng Leather and also at a protective film factory by Dongguan Nidy Technology).[67] On April 8 it was also found out that the Estonian Luminor Bank had frozen the payment to Jylhä's The Look Medical Care. Prodded by Jylhä, Hakola sent Luminor and Estonia's Ministry of the Interior (Estonia) an email where he assured HVK had made the payment and asked to defreeze it.[58]

Late April 8 Suomen Kuvalehti published the bombshell story about the murky dealings by HVK with Sarmaste and Jylhä and of the dispute between the two.[59][58][68] By the next day on April 9 it was headline news.[60][61][62][69][70] Jylhä told the press she had made a deal with HVK for a delivery of masks. She said Sarmaste had snatched the large deal by giving HVK a different Belgian account number. Sarmaste said the opposite by stating he had made his own deal with HVK.[58] On the same day HVK held a press conference where Lounema gave their version of what had happened. He said they had made separate deals with Sarmaste and Jylhä, both for approximately 5 million euros.[58] After this there were newspaper reports of Sarmaste's 11-page record of debt restructurings, and Helsingin Sanomat discovered that Jylhä's certificate was a counterfeit.[71][72] On April 10, prime minister Sanna Marin said in an Ilta-Sanomat interview that Tomi Lounema no longer had her support as the chief executive officer of HVK. The same day Lounema asked for resignation, as stated by Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen in a press meeting.[73] The next day Jyrki Hakola and Asko Harjula were also released from their work obligation.[58] In mid-April a report from consulting company KPMG found that HVK didn't have readiness for exceptional, rapid global acquirement of technical tools, resources and procedures.[57] Hakola told Deloitte that even on April 22 he had received a call from The Look Medical Center complaining of the money still being frozen in the Estonian bank account.[58] Also on April 22 Sarmaste and an accomplice were detained on suspicion of fraud,[74][75] although they were freed two days later while still under investigation.[76] On May 8 it was reported Hakola and Harjula had been fired.[63] Also on May 8 Jylhä's The Look Medical Company cancelled their agreement with HVK and sent a request for 3 million euros in compensation for damages.[77] On May 15 Yle reported that Hakola was being investigated by National Bureau of Investigation for breach of trust.[78] On June 3 Jylhä's money was still frozen in Estonia and a local court case concerning the matter was under way.[79] On June 16 it was reported that the police investigation of HVK had been expanded to three suspects.[80] In late June the report by Deloitte was publicized. They found that during the time span of 14.2.–11.4 HVK had placed 27 different orders for protective equipment. HVK had received approximately 3000 emails with offers for protective equipment. However the details of most agreements weren't fully noted and specifics written down, making it possible some weren't reported about at all. It was found that HVK hadn't properly prepared for organizational procurement in this sort of a situation that asked for a quick response, and that its ability to function cohesively in a demanding situation was lacking.[57]