The closure of Russian airspace is causing uncertainty in Lapland’s tourism industry, which has relied heavily on travel from Asian countries. The amount of Asian tourists visiting Finnish Lapland has been growing year after year, before stopping completely because of the pandemic. Now, after many travel restrictions have been lifted,Continue Reading
The COVID-19 pandemic has already peaked in Lithuania, Health Minister Arunas Dulkys says. “Today, we can truly say, based on the figures, that we have already peaked,” he told reporters on Monday, citing the general COVID-19 statistics. “Despite the fact that the general hospitalization figures continue to growth or theContinue Reading
Helsinki courts are set to be congested with cases against around 850 activists detained on demonstrations urging action on climate change, rising petrol prices and Covid restrictions. The majority of the activists were detained during protests by Elokapina, the Finnish branch of the climate group Extinction Rebellion, and are chargedContinue Reading
Covid certification requirements will not be lifted from February 21, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) says, citing too-high rates of hospitalization as a result of symptomatic Covid. Speaking at the regular Thursday press conference, Kallas said: “The average number of symptomatic Covid patients admitted to hospital over the past tenContinue Reading
A few dozen demonstrators were still on hand across the street from Parliament on Wednesday when the protest was originally scheduled to end. The Convoy Finland 2022 movement brought protesters to Helsinki on Friday with a list of demands calling for an end to Covid mandates, cheaper petrol and dieselContinue Reading
The prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will meet on Friday to discuss coordinating the easing of coronavirus restrictions in the Baltic states, Latvian Prime Minister Krišjanis Karinš has said. Latvia wants to develop a strategy to start lifting restrictions this month, public broadcaster LSM reported on Tuesday. KarinšContinue Reading
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) urged the United States to ramp up its military presence in the Baltic countries in an interview to Financial Times. Russia has amassed over 100,000 troops on the Ukraine border. Kallas wants NATO to boost its eastern flank presence irrespective of whether Russia invades UkraineContinue Reading
Finland is facing a severe shortage of healthcare professionals over the coming decade, experts warn. Universities of Applied Sciences in Finland are struggling to fill nursing courses, despite the fact that the country is facing a well-documented shortage of healthcare professionals. “When you think about the current image of nursing,Continue Reading
“They have really started to think about how to help Lithuania, Latvia and Poland in the face of this situation,” Asta Skaisgiryte, the president’s chief foreign policy adviser, told the public broadcaster LRT. “This is the first initiative, which is now being examined by the Interior Ministry and other institutions.”Continue Reading
Around a quarter-of-a-million disposed medical masks have been collected under a recycling scheme in Tallinn, in the five months of the project’s operation. Ester Öpik, coordinator of Tallinn coronavirus prevention measures, said: “We have seen in all locations of the collection bins that people eagerly dispose of face masks inContinue Reading