As government and health officials work on coming coronavirus-related restrictions, the Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services, Krista Kiuru (SDP), said that the special situation in the northern border city of Tornio will be taken into account.
Every day, around 10,000 people cross the Finnish-Swedish border in Tornio, hundreds of whom are employed on both sides of the border. Additionally a large number of youngsters cross the border to attend school every day.
On Monday Kiuru said that the government realises the conditions at Finland's borders vary, adding that one special case is the border crossing in Tornio.
"It goes without saying that people have to cross the border and that [Tornio and the Swedish city of Haparanda] are like the same village," Kiuru said, adding that eventual guidelines on matters like enforced quarantines must be proportionate.
A working group which includes members from the Institute for Health and Welfare as well as local infectious disease authorities is currently working on special arrangements for the Tornio-Haparanda border, according to the minister.
There has been discussion that one of those special arrangements includes setting up an information post at the crossing where, among other things, coronavirus tests could be administered. However, Kiuru said the group should be left in peace until their work is complete.
The working group's proposal is expected to be completed this week.
PM clarified minister's quarantine plans
One week ago, Kiuru announced that people arriving from so-called high-risk countries would face mandatory quarantine orders enforceable by jail time or fines, a missive which raised eyebrows among many residents in the busy border city.
However, a couple of days later, Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) issued a clarification regarding Kiuru's announcement, saying that not everyone arriving to Finland from high-risk countries would be subjected to compulsory quarantines.
Justice minister Anna-Maja Henriksson (SPP) and economic affairs minister Mika Lintilä (CEN) have both discussed a more lenient approach in coronavirus-related border regulations than Kiuru, particularly regarding Sweden.
Meanwhile, minister Kiuru emphasised the importance of health security at the country's borders, saying that authorities need to be informed how to operate on a daily basis.
However, the city's chief physician Jukka Ronkainen said there weren't enough hours in the day to be able to enforce the quarantine of every individual who crossed the border.
But Kiuru emphasised that action needs to be taken, saying that there was no time left to waste.
"Reality has emerged, the autumn has begun and a serious threat to [our] health security is coming across the borders. Implementing the Communicable Diseases Act, health authorities have to consider how safety [at the borders] can be improved on a daily basis," Kiuru said.