Emergency withdrawn as coronavirus situation improves

The government on Monday decided to withdraw the state of emergency from Tuesday following the improvement in the coronavirus situation.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin from a press conference announced the decision to withdraw the state emergency imposed on 16 March following the coronavirus outbreak.

“There is no longer a legal basis for the validity of the Emergency Act,” Marin told the press meet.

The prime minister, however, said the epidemic is not over yet, adding that people should behave in accordance with the government’s recommendations.

At the height of the epidemic, the government used its extraordinary powers for isolating the Province of Uusimaa, which includes the Capital City of Helsinki.

Most recently, these powers were only used to ensure the proper functioning of health institutions. The Emergency Powers Act would remain in force until the end of June.

Current measures, such as capacity restrictions for restaurants and venues hosting public events, remain valid, as they are based on the laws related to the control of infectious disease and do not require emergency powers.

Marin said the government will now work on creating the legal tools needed for managing a possible second wave of the epidemic without the need to resorting to emergency powers. She said the government will assess and evaluate its own track record by involving outside experts.

From an international perspective, Finland has succeeded well in combating the COVID-19 epidemic. The numbers of diagnosed cases and deaths have remained lower in Finland than in many of its peer countries, the government observed.

That said, the lifting of the state of emergency does not mean that the situation has passed or that there is no longer a risk of resurgence of the epidemic. The significance of the decision is that the powers vested in the Emergency Powers Act will no longer be used.