Jubilee Post News & Views
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Sanna Marin, the Finland’s Prime Minister has apologised for going clubbing after coming into close contact with a Covid-19 case, the foreign minister of the country.
The country has also recorded eight cases of the new Omicron variant till now.
Sanna Marin went on a night out in Helsinki, and this was hours after her foreign minister had tested positive. She was initially told she did not need to isolate because she had been fully vaccinated, but later missed a text that advised her to do so, which she apparently missed reading.
Critics questioned her judgement for not isolating until testing negative. At 34, Sanna Marin became world’s youngest PM to head a women-led cabinet in December 2019. Marin, from the dominant Social Democrats, was chosen by her party as the sole candidate for the post of the prime minister.
The Social Democratic prime minister, now 36, said the text message that advised her to avoid social contact was sent to her work phone, which she had left at home. When she saw the text, she urgently sought a Covid test and the result came back negative.
At first Marin defended her actions, arguing that she had followed the advice of her secretary of state, who informed her about the Covid exposure. But in a Facebook post Marin said she should have double-checked the guidance and used better judgement.
“I am very sorry for not understanding that I needed to do that,” she wrote.
Under Finland’s Covid guidelines, anyone who is double-jabbed does not need to isolate if they come into contact with a positive case. The guidelines but advise to voluntarily avoid social contact if they are waiting for a Covid test report.
Separate guidelines for government ministers and employees also recommend limiting social contact immediately after exposure. Marin has faced criticism since a gossip magazine published photos of the prime minister attending a Helsinki weekend nightclub with friends.
