Coronavirus Only half of those arriving from high-risk countries could be tested at the airport – All those arriving in the country should be required to have a negative test result, says Vantaa’s military director

According to Timo Aronkydö, Deputy Mayor of Vantaa, a negative corona test in the country of origin should be required of all those entering the country soon.

Helsinki-Vantaa the airport is open from Saturday had to undergo a compulsory medical examination for all passengers arriving from high-risk countries as defined by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). The Regional State Administrative Agency (AVI) issued an order for mandatory inspections and related coronavirus tests on Friday.

In practice, Helsinki-Vantaa comes from three high-risk countries: Britain, Denmark and Norway. Director of Social and Health Care in Vantaa, Deputy Mayor Timo Aronkytö says an average of 1,500 passengers a day arrive from these countries on weekdays.

On Saturday, roughly half of those arriving from high-risk countries were tested at the airport. The other half was instructed to apply for the test at their place of residence or stay and to avoid social contacts, Aronkytö says by phone.

Helsinki-Vantaa’s testing capacity is by no means enough to test all those arriving from high-risk countries immediately at the airport. According to Aronkydö, about a thousand people were tested at the airport in the early stages of the coronavirus epidemic, and special arrangements were in place at the time.

“In recent months, tests have been performed at a rate of about 300 a day. Now the amounts have been increased on the basis of an order and a letter of intent from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. ”

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Vantaa still complies with the regulations of the Avi. According to Avi, a mandatory health check must be conducted “within the limits allowed by local resources”.

Helsinki-Vantaa was the first to report on testing capacity MTV.

According to Timo Aronkydö, Deputy Mayor of Vantaa, the discussion on the rejection of the coronary passport should not have been started, although it seems that the anti-infective effect of the two doses of vaccine has weakened due to the omicron variant.

Mandatory to avoid a health check if the entrant has to present a negative pre-test certificate obtained 48 hours before arrival in Finland.

The length of THL’s list of own-risk countries is likely to increase significantly in the coming days. According to Aronkydö, a negative corona test certificate received within two days before arriving in Finland will soon be required from everyone.

“I think border testing still matters when we don’t know how much omicron is here. At this stage, it makes sense to maintain a good level of preparedness from the point of view of control measures, ”says Aronkytö.

This means that those from high-risk countries are interviewed, health-checked and compulsorily tested, or, alternatively, given precise instructions on how to apply for the test at their place of residence or stay.

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“The airport is now checked as well as it can be checked. The city of Vantaa has acted here as part of the responsible health border authority. ”

Snapshot however, it will change in a few days, Aronkytö says.

“When there is a lot of virus in Finland, the importance of forced border testing at the airport decreases, but not so little that it would not be worth doing it at all.”

“In a few days, the only option will be a test taken within two days before entry.”

However, endless testing resources should not be added to the airport, because then they will be away from somewhere else. The solution for regulating the viral load is to obtain a negative coronavirus test result within 48 hours before arriving in Finland, Aronkyrö says.

“In order to prevent the virus from entering the country, in a few days the only option will be a test taken within two days before entry. That is the fight. ”

Those arriving from outside the EU and Schengen countries will be required to provide both a certificate of an approved vaccination series and a certificate of a negative pre-test from Tuesday 21 December. According to Aronkydö, the same practice should be extended to the EU’s internal borders “by some mechanism”. He is not in favor of internal border controls.

“Health authorities should have the right to require a negative test result from a passenger before boarding a plane. That would allow border authorities to focus on what they belong to, namely the control of the EU’s external borders. “

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Aronkytö is a little frustrated that there has not been a proper discussion in Finland about what is “really wanted or needed”.

“Now, let’s say, all the ways to implement a little cross are presented. There should be consistent planning for what is needed in any situation. Because this is clear, even though the situation looks challenging. ”

Aronkytö wonders why, for example, the debate over the rejection of a corona passport has begun at all.

Read more: The use of the corona passport may have to be suspended, says THL’s Markku Tervahauta: “The situation is a bit absurd”

“It shouldn’t have started because it’s not an either-or situation, but both a and situation. In some situations a corona passport is required, in others a negative test result. In some situations, both may be required. Now we should make clear what is required in any situation. ”

Could it be possible to change the concept of “those who have received a full series of vaccines” to mean those who have received three doses of the vaccine? According to Aronkydö, this is not yet relevant.

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