PANDEMIC

Finland to lift all Covid-19 restrictions in February

Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland, speaks at a press conference in this file photo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa.

The Nomad Today/dpa

01 de February de 2022 (10:49 h.)

Starting on Tuesday, restaurants will be able to extend their opening hours to 9 pm and serve alcohol until 8 pm

All coronavirus-related restrictions are set to be lifted in Finland in February, with the exact timing to be hashed out this week, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Monday.

Marin said her Social Democratic-led government will meet on Wednesday to draw up a plan for rescinding the rules, broadcaster Yle reported.

Some measures, however, are already due to be eased. For instance, starting on Tuesday, restaurants will be able to extend their opening hours to 9 pm and serve alcohol until 8 pm.

Border controls with other EU and Schengen countries will also be lifted as of Tuesday. These were introduced in December to slow the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

The government said that vaccines had proved their worth by preventing mass hospitalizations as the Omicron variant spread through Finland, meaning the country was in a good position to finally lift all restrictions.