THL recommendations for testing and length of quarantine effective in Ostrobothnia from 14 January

On Thursday 13 January, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) issued a recommendation to reduce coronavirus quarantine to five (5) days. At the same time, THL recommends that most people with only mild symptoms take a coronavirus home test. THL’s instructions and recommendations will be implemented in Ostrobothnia from Friday 14 January.

More detailed THL instructions are available on the THL website. NOTE! In Ostrobothnia, the instructions have been supplemented with additional instructions.

Take a home test if you suspect a coronavirus

New instructions in Ostrobothnia: If you have symptoms suggestive of a coronavirus, take a home test. If the home test is negative but symptoms persist, you may want to take the test again.

If you get a positive result from the home test, tell the people you have been in close contact with (less than 2 m and for more than 15 min) 48 hours before the onset of your symptoms or after they have been exposed to the coronavirus. Stay in isolation for 10 days. If you need an official test result due to loss of earnings, apply for an official test.

If you have any flu symptoms, it is recommended to avoid contact with persons other than those living in the same household for at least five days from the onset of symptoms.

An official coronavirus test will be performed in the following cases:

• The test has been recommended by a healthcare professional.
• You are employed in client and patient work within social welfare and healthcare.
• You are employed in any position in round-the-clock care or disability services.
• You are in a risk group predisposing to severe coronavirus disease.
• You are pregnant

Only an official test and any subsequent isolation and quarantine decisions entitle you to an infectious disease allowance.

The epidemic is not over

The new guidelines do not mean that the epidemic or the serious illnesses that come with it are over. The changes are due to the ineffectiveness of previous means in a situation where resources are insufficient to be able to make quarantine and isolation decisions quickly enough.

– We all have an increasing responsibility to prevent the virus from spreading. We need to learn to act without a personal decision from the authorities, says Peter Nieminen, Chief Physician of the Wellbeing Services County of Ostrobothnia.

Keeping to restrictions and recommendations will prevent infections

The spread of the coronavirus is now being prevented, in particular, by restrictions and recommendations that apply to all residents of Ostrobothnia. Binding restrictions are decided by the Regional State Administrative Agency for Western and Inland Finland, and regional recommendations are issued by the Ostrobothnia Corona Coordination Group.

– The coronavirus is now spreading very easily. An effective way to protect yourself and others from infection is to avoid situations where the virus can spread. The vaccine protects against serious illness, says Nieminen.

A condensed recommendation is to avoid all meetings with people outside your own household, such as doing telework.

Protect yourself with the vaccine

All municipalities in Ostrobothnia now offer coronavirus vaccines to anyone over 5 years of age. New vaccination times are constantly being added to booking systems.