Finland restricts entry from South Africa due to a new variant; few arrivals so far News
More passengers from South Africa are expected at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport next week.
Yle’s news
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Government decides on Sunday afternoon to impose entry restrictions on people arriving from South Africa, Interior Minister Krista Mikkonen (Green) reported on Twitter.
From 3 pm on Sunday, Finland will restrict entry to tourists who have been in Botswana, Eswatin (Swaziland), South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia or Zimbabwe during the 14 days prior to arrival. There are no direct flights from South Africa to Finland.
“These countries may only come to Finland if they have an essential reason, such as a compelling family matter or other compelling personal reason. However, a Finnish citizen and a permanent resident of Finland can always return to Finland,” the statement said. a statement from the government stating that the decision does not restrict traffic at the internal borders of the Schengen countries.
The restrictions are valid until at least December 19th.
Authorities have tried to respond to Thursday’s news of a new, apparently much more contagious variant of Covid-19, first identified in South Africa last week.
It has been detected in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium, as well as in Israel and Hong Kong, and cases have been suspected in the Czech Republic and Germany.
On Saturday, the regional government agencies ordered compulsory health inspections at border crossing points for passengers who have been in certain South African countries for the last two weeks. These countries include the seven countries mentioned above, as well as Malawi.
Omicron is by far the most mutated form of Covid-19 with 32 mutations in the spike protein. The World Health Organization named it and declared it a “concern” on Friday.
Recent arrivals asymptomatic
Only a few asymptomatic people have arrived at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in South Africa in recent days, Timo Aronkytö, the deputy mayor and head of Vantaa’s health and social services department, told STT on Sunday morning.
Test results for those tested on Saturday will be available on Sunday, but Aronkytö says the results are assumed to be negative.
Due to a variant of the new omicron virus, mandatory testing for passengers who have recently been to South Africa began at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport on Saturday. The city of Vantaa, where the airport is located, is responsible for health inspections.
Aronkytö says that next week dozens of people are expected to come to Finland from South Africa, some of whom will continue their journey from Helsinki to other places.
On Friday afternoon, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs recommended avoiding all travel to South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho or Eswatin.
Updated at 2:40 pm by government decision, other details.