Finnish health authorities on Monday ordered football fans who had just returned from watching the UEFA European Football Championship(Euro 2020) in Saint Petersburg to take a screening test. It follows 300 of them tested positive for Covid-19.
Last week, Prime Minister Sanna Marin and public health officials warned following the country’s test staff on the Russian border were shocked by the presence of more than 3,000 supporters returning home after Finland was knocked out of Euro 2020 after losing to Belgium.
About 800 more supporters who returned by bus were allowed to enter the country without going through health tests and official quarantine orders.
“Almost 300 coronavirus infections have been detected among Finnish travelers returning from St Petersburg,” the country’s public health body (THL) said in a statement on Monday.
THL also recommended that supporters undergo quarantine for at least 72 hours until they get a negative result. St. Petersburg, one of the host cities of Euro 2020, recorded the worst Delta variant virus infection.
On Monday, Helsinki Mayor Jan Vapaavuori told a news conference, hopes of lifting the ban had to be postponed in anticipation of an increase in infections from the tournament.
“There are so many infections,” Vapaavuori said, adding: “The situation is clearly different from what it was a week ago.”
Sources: Times of India, The Moscow Times
