The Finnish Prime Minister is embarrassed: a minister was infected, but went to the party

It was a special weekend, preceding Finland’s Independence Day on December 6, a national holiday. Marin wrote on Facebook that she and her husband had their daughter with the grandparents for a few days to spend time together. On Saturday, she was told that the Secretary of State had tested positive.

The cabinet had met the day before and more infections were lurking. According to the Prime Minister, she has been asked not to self-isolate because she has received the vaccination. So she decided to go ahead with her plans. “We were shopping, seeing friends, eating out, and then just hanging out with the nightlife.”

In fact, the rules of the Finnish Health Service state that vaccinated people do not have to self-isolate if they have been in contact with an infected person. Citizens are advised to avoid contact while waiting for the test result. The internal code of conduct, updated on November 26, advises ministers to do the same. Marin said she wasn’t aware of it.

Work phone was at home

According to Marin, she later received two texts with a message that it was better to stay at home. However, she only saw these Sunday messages, because she didn’t have her work phone with her when she went out. I assumed she would be called on her own phone in urgent matters.

The Prime Minister made a statement last Monday. “I should have made a different decision,” she wrote on Facebook at the time. The controversy over the Prime Minister’s Club gang continued to rage, especially after a photo surfaced of them in a (busy) nightclub. So on Wednesday she came with an apology.

The Prime Minister was recently praised for her approach to COVID-19. The country of 5.5 million has lamented a relatively small number of corona deaths: 1,400. Nearly three-quarters of the population has been vaccinated. In recent weeks, the number of infections has risen rapidly, but the number of patients in intensive care is not so bad.

The Social Democratic politician became the world’s youngest prime minister two years ago. She leads a center-left coalition of five parties, all of which have a female leader. She is known for her good communication skills, including on social media, through which she reaches out to many Finns. When she took office, Marin said she would adopt a modern approach in some areas, such as the use of social media. I am not only a prime minister, but an individual as well.