Finland's government has completed a proposal to amend the Infectious Diseases Act in order to respond more effectively in the battle against the coronavirus. The bill was sent to Parliament on Thursday and will be discussed in a special session on Saturday.
The change in the law has been in the works since summer, but was delayed due to a lack of consensus within the government. The Social Affairs and Health Committee is responsible for handling this matter.
"There is no possibility this will be completed before Christmas," committee chair MP Markus Lohi (Cen) said.
If the ministry suggests next week that the bill should be dealt with as a priority, Lohi said, the committee is even ready to meet during the parliamentary recess. In that case, the changes could come into force at the beginning of February, he added.
However, on a normal working schedule, it will more likely be completed in March, Lohi concluded.
Changes could restrict business freedom
The Infectious Diseases Act could give health authorities powers that currently do not exist in the Emergency Powers Act. For instance, it could allow authorities to order the closure of gyms, group exercise facilities and ski lifts at resorts.
The law could therefore restrict the activities of a private entrepreneur or the use of private premises in order to prevent the spread of infections.
This has been one of the challenging aspects of the bill which will also be thoroughly discussed by the Constitutional Law Committee, Lohi said.
"When it comes to restricting business activities, these are very critical actions and they must be weighed very carefully. This is going to be a point to consider," he said.
Throughout the pandemic, authorities have only been able to appeal to the organisers of private group activities like exercise classes to impose restrictions but could not intervene in the matter.
However, many businesses have followed health and safety measures and limited the number of people who can fit in a dance class, for instance.
In the future, the facilities could be shut down by order of the authorities, but before that other means should be used such as limiting the number of people. According to the new proposal, facilities could be closed for a maximum of two weeks at a time.
Bill delayed by major hiccups
The government began to amend the Infectious Diseases Act in the summer so that there would be no need to resort to a state of emergency after the first coronavirus wave struck in spring.
However, the work was not easy, as there were concerns among both governing parties and the opposition about restricting business freedom. The Swedish People’s Party that leads the Ministry of Justice was concerned about it infringing on fundamental rights.
The matter was only presented to the opposition in October when the country was already in the grips of a second coronavirus wave.
Until now, business freedom has been directly restricted only in restaurants whose opening hours have been dictated by government measures.
Strong measures restricting other fundamental rights can only be imposed through the Emergency Powers Act. For instance, medical staff cannot be assigned shifts or tasks on the basis of the Infectious Diseases Act alone.
The current sections of the Communicable Diseases Act have made it possible to close public spaces like swimming pools and sports facilities and move upper secondary schools to remote learning in the worst affected areas.
In November, the government publicly put pressure on municipalities to effectively curb the spread of the coronavirus and had expressed that regions should have acted more quickly.
Most of the amendments to the Act are intended to be temporary and valid until the end of next year.