Updated on: 30 March 2022
There may be delays in the updating of the translated versions. You can find up-to-date information in Finnish from the website of the Lapland Hospital District.
Description of the situation
The Lapland Hospital District is in the community transmission phase of the epidemic.
See recent and daily news on the home page.
General instructions
Do not go to any public places if you are ill. If you are experiencing mild symptoms related to the coronavirus, stay at home, and check the testing criteria for the municipality where you live (cough, sore throat, runny nose, high temperature/fever, changes in taste and smell, diarrhoea). If you get a positive result from COVID-19 test, stay at home for five days calculated from the beginning of the symptoms. People confirmed as having COVID-19 are not ordered to isolate, but normal sick leave practices should be followed. Municipalities and employers will provide further guidance on sick leave practices.
Maintain safe distances of at least two (2) metres, and take good care of hand and cough hygiene.
The use of face mask is recommended for all public indoor spaces and on public transport where safe distancing cannot be guaranteed. The use of face mask is still recommended for all persons working in customer service positions. However, in the social and health care customer and patient units, all staff must continue to use the surgical face mask covering the nose and mouth when taking care of customers and patients.
Public events, obligations of event organisers, and private events
28 March 2022 Regional State Administrative Agency for Lapland: The Regional State Administrative Agency of Lapland is to continue enforcing the provision on the safe and healthy use of premises in accordance with Section 58 d of the Communicable Diseases Act running through to 30 April.
Link issued by the Regional State Administrative Agency for Lapland: The decision to employ health security measures for premises will continue in Lapland.
Restaurants and bars
24 February 2022 Government: The restrictions on restaurants will be lifted in the beginning of March
General hygiene obligations for restaurants shall be valid for all regions through to 31 March 2022.
The restaurants shall make it clear to arriving customers that a person with symptoms that relate to COVID-19 shall not be admitted to the restaurant. In particular, the catering establishments must ensure that no unnecessary congestion is created in their premises, and that the arrival of customers in the establishment is carried out in a manner which maintains a sufficient distance between customers and groups. The catering establishments must ensure that the premises and all its surfaces are cleaned and that customers are given the opportunity to clean their hands. The catering establishments must draw up a written plan for how it carries out the obligations and restrictions imposed on its operations and on the use of indoor and outdoor facilities.
Visits to hospitals, and to social and health service units
30 March 2022 Infection Control Unit: Visits by relatives in to Ward 5B of the Lapland Central Hospital are prohibited until Wednesday 6 April, in order to reduce the risk of infection of patients and staff. For a patient who is in hospice or otherwise seriously ill, visits by the asymptomatic relatives are possible and must be separately agreed with the care unit in question.
Travel
15 February Travelling Instructions from the website of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL): Travel and the coronavirus pandemic
14 March Finnish Border Guard: Instructions for crossing the border during the COVID-19 pandemic 14 March – 10 April 2022
Education and early childhood education
22 December Link to the recommendations issued by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and the Ministry of Education and Culture (OKM): Recommendation from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education and Culture to providers of education and early childhood education during the COVID-19 epidemic
28 May Link to the guidelines issued by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and the Ministry of Education and Culture (OKM): Instructions for preventing coronavirus infections in camps of children and young people
The hospital district area follows the recommendation of the Health and Welfare Institution and the Ministry of Education and Culture.
When children fall ill
Children under the age of 16 may seek an official COVID-19 test if the child’s guardian has a need to apply for an infectious disease allowance and the child has no insurance to cover the costs of obtaining a certificate.
If you experience even the slightest of symptoms you must not go to a kindergarten or school.
Updated on 30 March 2022
Lapland Hospital District / Infection Control Unit