Finnish PM apologises for clubbing after Covid contact

Sanna Marin, the Prime Minister of Finland, has apologised for going out clubbing in Helsinki after having close contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19. The Foreign Minister from her government had tested positive just a few hours before the Finnish PM went out for the evening on Saturday 4 December.

The advice she was initially given was that there was no need for her to isolate due to her full vaccination record, but later a message was sent that reversed that decision and recommended self-isolation until after a negative result. Critics have jumped on her decision to not originally self-isolate until after she had been tested.

The prime minister has said that the test message that changed the advice given was sent to her work phone, which she had left at home. The message clarified she should avoid social contact until proven negative. She claims that as soon as she saw the text on Sunday, she sourced a test immediately and the result was negative for the Finnish PM.

She defended her actions when they first came to light in the following days, saying she had only followed the advice of her Secretary of State who had been the one to inform her of the contact. But in a Facebook post on Monday 6 December, Ms Marin confirmed she should have checked the guidance herself and used better judgement.

“I am very sorry for not understanding that I needed to do that”, she wrote. Finland’s Covid guidelines do state that a fully-vaccinated person does not need to isolate if they come into contact with a positive case. It does, however, advise people to voluntarily avoid social contact if they are waiting for access to a Covid test.

The criticism from her opponents came as a gossip magazine published photographs of the Finnish PM out at the Butchers Club, where she stayed with friends until 4 am.

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