Finland eases infection criteria for safe countries

Finland has decided to ease the COVID-19 infection rate criteria for safe countries and free travel as of Sept. 19, reported Xinhua, quoting announcements of government ministers made on Thursday evening after cabinet talks.

The new limit will be eased to 25 cases of infection per 100,000 residents in a country within the past two weeks. People arriving from countries whose infection level is no higher than this will be allowed to enter Finland without a two-week quarantine.

Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo said in a live telecast to the media after cabinet talks that Finland wanted to follow the general European Union (EU) levels, referring to a recent European Commission suggestion defining the admissible level as "between 25 and 50 cases per 100,000 residents."

So far Finland has applied the criteria of eight cases per 100,000 residents in a country within the past two weeks. If a country's infection rate exceeded this level, it would be considered by Finland as risky concerning the COVID-19. However, the number of eligible European countries had shrunk to merely two earlier this week, with Latvia and Cyprus meeting the criteria.

Besides, Ohisalo announced that Finland would continue intra-EU border controls until Nov. 22, even though the six-month limit of internal controls expires in September.

The cabinet reached the decision after two days of talks.

Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä said the decision will do away the uncertainty that has prevailed in the travel industries.

"We can open the winter season, better late than not at all," he said.

Finland has also been preparing legislation that would allow entry from a "risky country" if the person has a fresh negative COVID-19 certificate.

Timo Harakka, minister of transport and communications, said on Thursday that the law would apply to people coming from countries that exceed the 25/100,000 limit. He hoped the laws would be enacted sometime in October.