The fear of having contracted the Covid-19 disease has once again driven Sanna Marin away from her office in the Government palace. This is the fourth time since April that the Finnish Prime Minister has altered her schedule due to physical discomfort.
The Prime Minister announced her decision to telecommute early Tuesday morning through her personal Twitter account. Shortly after, the news was officially reported by the Government's Communication Department in a short text on only one paragraph.
"Prime Minister Sanna Marin has mild respiratory symptoms. She will undergo a coronavirus test and move to telecommuting. The prime minister will participate remotely in the government talks starting today at 5 p.m," the government's brief statement says.
The Government will hold a meeting on Tuesday 18 August at 17:00 at the House of the Estates to negotiate decisions regarding border restrictions.
Minulla on lieviä hengitystieoireita. Käyn koronatestissä ja siirryn etätöihin. Tänään siis etänä eduskuntaryhmän kesäkokous ja hallituksen neuvottelut.
— Sanna Marin (@MarinSanna) August 18, 2020
Fourth time away since spring
This is the fourth time since spring that the Prime Minister, who returned from vacation last week, has withdrawn from her responsibilities or moved to telecommuting.
On 23 April, Marin announced that she was switching to working remotely due to possible exposure to the coronavirus while the Finnish press linked her spouse to the scandal of Business Finland's subsidies to large consulting firms.
Despite the strict isolation standards applied to the general population, she returned to her office the next day.
On Thursday 7 May, the entire government was put to work remotely due to two ministers' alleged exposure to the coronavirus. On that occasion, the withdrawal coincided with a complicated turn of parliamentary questions in the agenda. All ministers returned to work normally the next day.
Later, in May, Marin took a week of sick leave, officially "due to a cold." During her leave, she also underwent a Covid-19 test.
