Finland tightens control at border with Sweden

Finland has begun to tighten control at its northwestern border with Sweden, in a fresh attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the government announced on Monday, reported news agency Xinhua.

When Finland earlier put in restrictions on its inner-EU borders, commuting over the land border in and out of Sweden was left open.

Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo said at a press conference that further measures on the border with Sweden are required in light of the current health situation, as the infection rate in northern Sweden is much higher than on the Finnish side.

Over the weekend, health authorities warned of the possibility that the massive spreading of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, would begin in northern Finland.

As of Monday, the coronavirus cases in Finland stood at 1,313 with 13 deaths, according to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

Mika Salminen, a director at THL, said on Monday there are indications that the heavy restrictions on movement have begun to take effect as there has been a decline in the number of new cases.

However, Juha Tuominen, the CEO of the Helsinki-Uusimaa Hospital District was not so confident and warned against drawing conclusions based on data of a few days.