Professor Mika Salminen, a senior official at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), has become a familiar face in Finland over the past few months on all things corona-related.
Newsstand tabloid Ilta-Sanomat, however, challenges his authority, saying Salminen, an unelected health official, is determining the country’s fate in one of the most serious crises in Finnish history. Much of what Salminen espouses is opinion, though the media interprets it as fact, according to former IS editor-in-chief Tapio Sadeoja.
In his column, Sadeoja suggests that Salminen--who has also worked in Sweden--is both a believer in herd immunity and influenced by the neighbouring country's approach to the pandemic. Sadeoja says the government’s new hybrid strategy indicates Finland is taking Sweden’s path, albeit a slower one, meaning that many more people will still fall ill as the country moves towards achieving a level of herd immunity.
The columnist claims the government, following Salminen’s lead, is choosing not to consider the speedy development of a vaccine or effective medical treatment as other possible options for combating coronavirus.
However, international experts still are not certain how much--or how long--a previous infection can protect a person from being infected by the virus again, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Old and stuck at home
Finland’s elderly need clear guidelines on how to go about their daily lives, the Swedish-language pensioners’ association tells Hufvudstadsbladet (HBL).
The group says many of Finland’s over-70s have interpreted official social distancing recommendations to mean not going out at all. Staying indoors for long periods of time adversely affects both physical and mental health, according to the retirees’ organisation.
"We need clear guidelines from both the THL and Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on how the older population will be able to maintain both their mental and physical health," the group’s chairman, Ole Norrback, said.
Pension pots suffer
Business magazine Talouselämä meanwhile writes that the past few months have wiped 20 billion euros off pension firms’ investments. However citing the Finnish Centre for Pensions, TE suggests that retirement funds are still safe.
Meanwhile in a separate article, Finnish Pension Alliance TELA told the TE that the coronavirus crisis could necessitate raising pension contributions or cutting pensions to help balance the current system.
Tiny home goes viral
Coronavirus has a new contender for the most-read story in Helsingin Sanomat's site--real estate.
The paper asks whether a seven-square-metre studio is the smallest apartment discovered to date in the capital. The flat on Aleksis Kivenkatu in Helsinki’s historically blue-collar neighbourhood of Kallio was home to a bachelor for 40 years.
The tiny ground floor home has since been bought by a real estate firm and is now for sale with bidding starting at 59,000 euros.