Minister urges to avoid unnecessary border crossings

Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo on Monday appealed to the residents near the Finnish-Swedish land border in northwestern Finland against unnecessary border crossings to curb the spread of COVID-19, reported news agency Xinhua.

Ohisalo paid an unannounced visit to the border town of Tornio. While talking to the media, she said residents can cross the border, but should only do it for essential needs.

National broadcaster Yle reported that the number of border crossings had tripled over the weekend to over 7,000 from 2,000 a week earlier.

Earlier on Monday, Jyri J. Taskila, the executive physician of the local health district, urged locals to consider carefully before crossing into Sweden. The region on the Finnish side has become one of the three hotspots for COVID-19 infection in Finland.

Johanna Ojala-Niemelä, the chairman of the Parliament's Constitutional Law Committee, told Finnish language newspaper Lapin Kansa that information should be more explicit on what is "a recommendation" or a legally mandated restriction. She reminded that Finnish citizens have the right to depart and to come back.

Mikko Kärnä, one of the Members of Parliament from the Lapland constituency, which includes Tornio, told Lapin Kansa that he supports the recommendations not to cross the border, but said citizens "have to be told what their rights are."

As of Monday, Finland has reported 5,984 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 271 deaths. According to a preliminary estimate, at least 4,000 people have recovered from the disease, said Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.