Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin has announced that the country will be lifting all Wuhan coronavirus restrictions by mid-February as the country starts easing some restrictions this week.
The Finnish Prime Minister stated on Monday that all coronavirus restrictions would end by mid-February and that some restrictions will begin to ease this week, starting on Tuesday, such as restrictions on restaurants and sporting facilities.
Starting today — Tuesday 1st — restaurants will be allowed to remain open until 9 pm rather than 6 pm and alcohol will be served until 8 pm. Bars, however, will still be made to close at 6 pm and stop serving alcohol at 5 pm, YLE reports.
Gyms, swimming pools and other facilities for individual activities will be opened on Tuesday in the region of Uusimaa, while other regions have opened such facilities already, starting last week.
The Finnish government has also scrapped internal border controls between Finland and European Union member states who are part of the Schengen agreement.
Those coming to Finland from outside of the EU will still be required to be fully vaccinated or prove recovery from the virus within the last six months plus a negative test no older than three days unless they are Finnish citizens or permanent residents.
Mika Valtonen, Chief Physician of the Intensive Care Unit of Turku University Hospital said he was cautious about lifting the restrictions but believed it could be done slowly.
“The coronavirus restrictions must and are in good agreement to be abandoned gradually. But we need to keep some kind of composure here,” he said.
Valtonen also argued that the government may be lifting the restriction due to a lack of compliance from the general public.
“These restrictions have not always been so consistent. If they are not streamlined and perhaps dismantled, then citizens do not feel that compliance with them is fair or important,” he said.
Finland will join the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland, who have all recently announced that they will be relaxing or scrapping coronavirus restrictions, such as mask mandates or the coronavirus health pass system.