The tabloid Iltalehti writes that the steep increase in coronavirus infections infections in the capital region has turned around.
It quotes Markku Mäkijärvi, Chief Medical Officer of Hus, the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District as telling the paper that this most recent development is a good sign – but not good enough.
According to Mäkijärvi, the number of infections has to be brought down even further in order to reduce the number of patients receiving hospital care. The continuing high level means that officials do not yet dare lift restrictions and recommendations. He called it "stalemate" for society as a whole.
According to information received by Iltalehti, the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland will announce on Tuesday that the current restrictions on gatherings in the region will be extended into January. Public events and meetings of more than ten people are prohibited for the time being until 18 December.
Uusimaa is one of the regions in Finland where the epidemic is spreading. In addition to Uusimaa, a high number of cases have been reported in the hospital districts of Kanta-Häme, Southwest Finland, Northern Ostrobothnia, Pirkanmaa, Päijät-Häme, Central Finland, South Savo, Satakunta and Kymenlaakso.
The nationwide incidence rate is 106.2 infections per 100,000 inhabitants for the period of the past two weeks. Uusimaa's incidence rate is 185.2, the highest in the country. The lowest is in East Savo at 20 per 100,000.
Corona bonus
The business and economic daily Talouselämä delves into the debate surrounding the idea of giving bonuses to public sector healthcare workers to compensate them for the extra workload caused by the coronavirus epidemic and reward them for their dedication during the crisis.
As the paper reports, the Union of Health and Social Care Professionals Tehy is pressing the state to pay healthcare workers bonuses.
While few seem to disagree with the idea, as such, there two key sticking points – where can municipalities get the money, and how would this impact Finland's system of centralised wage agreements.
Rather than open this can of worms, a number of experts interviewed by Talouselämä suggest a one-off series of local agreements between municipalities and labour unions.
A number of local councils and hospital districts have moved ahead on their own and already found work-arounds.
Talouselämä notes that in a recent blog posting, Tehy chair Millariikka Rytkönen described some of the ways in which healthcare sector workers are being compensated for their extra efforts during the epidemic.
Among the examples she mentioned is that the City of Inkoo has decided to reward all local healthcare personnel with a one-time payment of 100 euros . Joroinen is handing out 150 euros to each local healthcare worker, and the Päijät-Häme healthcare consortium is rewarding its employees with culture and sports vouchers.
Tampere University Hospital has agreed to higher on-call payments, additional compensation for shift work and compensation for delaying holidays. Similar arrangements are now in place in Helsinki and Oulu, as well.
You are what you eat
The farmers' union daily Maaseudun Tulevaisuus reports that around one in three young Finns between the ages of 13–19 follow some sort of special diet.
According to a survey of the eating habits of young people in Denmark, Sweden and Finland commissioned by the dairy products company Arla, the report shows that 17 percent of young Finns observe a lactose-free diet. Six percent are mainly vegetarians, two percent vegan, and two percent eat gluten-free food,
Not all young people are strict about their diet, however. For example, one in three who consider themselves vegetarians or vegans had eaten chicken within the week prior to the survey.
The study also showed that young people’s eating habits are most influenced by parents, friends and social media. Less relevant is what the official recommendations, teachers and doctors say,
Fate of a local landmark
The Stockmann Group announced on Monday that it will be selling off is to sell off its flagship department store in Helsinki as part of its restructuring strategy.
The sale of the group's department store building in Helsinki, a landmark structure in the capital, could turn out to be a "daunting operation" that will break previous real estate transaction records, according to a analysis by Tuomas Niskakangas in the daily Helsingin Sanomat.
He writes that it is very possible that the property will end up in foreign ownership. The interest of foreign real estate investors in the centre of Helsinki has grown in recent years, and a piece of prime real estate like this attracts considerable interest. The buyer could come from the United States, Germany, or Asia, Niskakangas writes.
There are not many potential Finnish buyers due to the huge size of the store. For example, the pension company Varma or Ilmarinen could come into play. However, it is more likely that a Finnish consortium with other investors in addition to pension money could be put together as a buyer.
The question also comes up of how good an investment buying the building would be right now. Any buyer will have to take into account that the tenant, the Stockmann Group is undergoing restructuring.
If Stockmann were to go bankrupt or otherwise had to close its downtown department store operation, a profitable new use for the building would have to be found. No potential buyer, writes Niskakangas is on the move with 100 percent confidence that Stockmann will be the main tenant for the foreseeable future.