Testing of arrivals begins in Finnish airports and seaports

The goal is to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Finland

With the reopening of Europe’s inner borders, coronavirus cases across the continent have spiked – as one could expect as a result of increased travel and the removal of many other lockdown restrictions. With the rising figures in mind, countries have begun introducing more and more measures that aim to stem the tide and hopefully prevent a mass resurgence of COVID-19 and a 2^nd wave of the disease.

Local and national authorities in Finland aim to not fall behind the curve and have also begun considering various ways to contain the spread of coronavirus from new arrivals by mulling checks at travelling hotspots – like Helsinki’s ports and the Helsinki-Vantaa airport.

Plugging all the holes and containing the spread

Testing at Finland’s busiest airport is scheduled to begin in just a matter of days according to authorities. The goal of the change is to start limiting the spread of COVID-19 from its very source – namely the newly-arriving tourists and travellers from abroad.

Testing will not be mandatory – instead, authorities hope that new arrivals will act as responsible citizens of the world and will subject themselves to the test if they believe they exhibit symptoms or think they might have contracted the disease during their travels.

On its own part, the Helsinki metropolitan area is also planning to take action in the near future in regard to the screening of new arrivals – more specifically of those coming to the city’s ports.

The local government of the Finnish capital is expected to begin deploying testing sites at the ports that will serve the purpose of providing tests for arrivals that exhibit COVID-19 symptoms or, again, those who are afraid that they might have contracted the disease along the way.

By implementing such measures, authorities in Finland are proving that they are thinking about the future and the health of their citizens – even if it might incur some short-term losses when it comes to potential travellers who might reconsider coming to Finland due to the increased hassle of coming ashore.