HS interview There are risks involved in lifting the restrictions, says Minister Lindén: “I would not underestimate the deaths, even for the elderly”

Policy|HS interview

Coronavirus epidemic is still serious, says the new minister for family and basic services Who is Linden (sd). On Monday, he spent his first full day in his new office at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on Meritullinkatu in Helsinki.

According to Lindén’s assessment, Finland is now at the peak of the fourth wave of the epidemic.

“The question is whether we are coming down from there with the measures already taken. In other words, is it sensible and possible to relax restrictions in a straightforward way and get rid of the harm they cause without causing too much harm to health and people, ”he says.

According to Monday’s data the hospital has 659 patients, 38 of whom are in intensive care. The figures have declined somewhat since mid-January. Lindén points out that in the last two weeks, 243 deaths related to the coronavirus were recorded in Finland.

“It’s more than once during a pandemic in a similar period. I would not underestimate the deaths, even when it comes to the elderly. Many of them, too, could have had many more years to live. At the beginning of the crisis, crisis management was based on strong solidarity with the most fragile people. ”

Sote-alan Lindén, 69, who has had a long career in management and as a doctor, has publicly pushed for strict restrictions during the pandemic when it was necessary to ensure the carrying capacity of hospital care. Shortly before Lindén’s appointment Krista Kiurun (sd) As family leave, the government had outlined that much of the restrictions should be lifted on Monday, February 14, next week.

Lindén naturally supports the government’s common line. He still notes that lifting the restrictions could exacerbate the epidemic.

“After all, lifting restrictions in this situation is a kind of risk-taking. Of course, conscious risk-taking in an optimistic spirit, which means that I myself believe that this is not the case. ”

The government has said it will significantly ease restrictions on restaurants and bars next week. At the same time, it recommends that regional government agencies waive all restrictions on public events and customer facilities. Avit makes decisions independently.

The new minister says he understands that many Finns want to get rid of long-standing restrictions quickly.

“Different issues have been coordinated in the Board’s policy. Vaccination coverage already brings us endurance. And people need to get their bread through work rather than compensation. In other words, the restrictions cannot be continued indefinitely. ”

“

“I can’t do it here.”

Health and THL, Director of Health Safety, Department of Welfare Mika Salminen criticized the government for dealing with the interest rate crisis in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat over the weekend. In Salminen’s opinion, the government focused too much on the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (STM) and at times neglected the well-being of young people, for example.

“I am frustrated by the fact that we have not been able to take better care of young people. It has not really been properly assessed what the disadvantages are of students being caught up in distance learning for a year, ”he said.

Read more: THL’s Mika Salminen criticizes the treatment of the coronary crisis: Management should not have been centralized in STM and the goal of reducing the number of infections with vaccines was a mistake

Lindén says she agrees with Salminen on many things. Lindén stresses that he is by no means criticizing the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. However, he believes that the crisis, which affects a wide range of sectors of society, should be tackled more vigorously through cooperation between several ministries.

“I don’t know the details when I haven’t been here before. But I have the impression that many times something that should have been handled in another ministry has been pushed into the STM. Perhaps other ministries have wanted to make crisis management even more STM-driven than STM itself. ”

Read more: STM’s Varhila responds to criticism of poor interest rate management: Board of Directors “did not respond” to requests to transfer responsibility

Linden believes that Salminen’s assessments of the disadvantages of distance learning for young people, for example, would be important tools for decision-makers.

“We would need measurable factual data on all the health effects of restrictive measures so that we can weigh different things against each other. In other words, hypothetically, we now have a mental health challenge threatening one hundred thousand young people and five hundred intensive care cycles. ”

But such estimates should, in Lindén’s view, come specifically from THL. No other party in Finland can produce them, he says.

“I’m not trying to present any clever and clever counter-argument to Salminen here, but I’m wondering if THL’s resources are sufficient today. I have said before that a society that drives down THL resources does not take health problems seriously. Maybe Salminen sounded the alarm bells with his statements that we should strengthen THL. ”

Linden considers that the carrying capacity of healthcare should be strengthened in the future. For example, he believes that intensive care units should be increased. However, Lindén believes that preparing for health care crises will remain at the center of public debate only during a pandemic and will remain in the background shortly thereafter.

“Now, many are waiting for a hospital to stand somewhere with people at work, even though it is only needed once every ten years, for example. In a year’s time, someone may still consider it realistic, but after that, other societal needs will come to the fore. ”