The total number of calls to emergency services in Finland decreased during the spring, as the coronavirus pandemic led to restrictions on movement, but police and social services dealt with an increased number of domestic incidents during the same period.
"The coronavirus crisis reduced mobility and made people act more cautiously than before," the Emergency Response Centre Agency’s Quality Control Manager Tommi Hopearuoho wrote in a press release. "This change brought about by the exceptional circumstances is clearly reflected in emergency calls made from March until May."
During that period, the agency reported that fewer calls were made to emergency services, especially related to health, compared to the previous year.
"The number of tasks for emergency services started to decrease, but the number of tasks for other authorities increased. There was a relative increase in the number of tasks outsourced to social work, rising by nine percent," Hopearuoho added.
During the first half of this year the agency received 1,347,000 emergency contacts. The corresponding figure last year was 1,410,300.
Towards the summer, the number of emergency calls began to rise again as the recommendations for restricted movement were eased.
Weather conditions in June also favoured outdoor activities and exercise, which led to increased calls.