HUS’s boss supports restaurant restrictions throughout Finland
JARI PETÄJÄThe acting chief physician of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS) believes that restaurant restrictions are the most effective way to reach unvaccinated sections of the population.
“In order for us to have as few restrictions as possible, every single restriction must be as effective as possible,” he said outlined In an interview with YLE A-studio on Thursday.
“Paint common sense says it’s worth starting with things that affect a very large amount of risky behavior,” he said, stressing that people spend a lot of time in restaurants. “There are about 685,000 alcohol license places in Uusimaa. There are 3.2 million restaurant chairs in Finland – and they are used quite a lot every weekend. Hundreds of thousands of people come together. “
Petäjä told YLE that he is confused by statements that question the effects of restaurant restrictions, especially as it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify the source of each infection due to reduced testing.
“You have to think that the restrictions should start [activities] which occur frequently, frequently, everywhere and which are manifestly detrimental to the spread of the coronavirus. “
He also expressed support for extending the scope of the coronavirus passport beyond restaurants and predicted that the passport could be in use for a longer period of time.
“Only about 150,000 Finns have been diagnosed with coronavirus disease by laboratory tests. There are still 1.2 million unvaccinated people. We have not yet seen most of the infections that lead to hospitalization. This effort will continue for a long time to come, Petäjä said.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT