Timo Aronkytö, director of the Vantaa and Kerava welfare region, considers the call for random corona testing at the airport challenging to implement. Official decisions on practical actions have yet to be made.
On Wednesday, EU countries decided on common EU-wide restrictions for travelers from China. The number of coronavirus infections has increased rapidly in China since the country relaxed its strict corona restrictions at the end of last year.
EU countries recommend, among other things, corona testing of passengers in the country of departure, the use of a face mask on flights and the monitoring of aircraft waste water. Member states are also advised to take random tests on arrivals from China.
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport’s health and safety measures belong to the Vantaa and Kerava welfare area. If the EU had ruled on mandatory corona testing only in the country of entry, Aronkytö believes that it would have been quite impossible to implement in many EU countries.
Testing requires not only facilities but also nurses, who would not have been available in Finland due to the shortage of nurses, he says.
*–* It would have significantly jeopardized the operation of healthcare and social care.
However, the same problems are related to the random testing recommended by the EU.
*–* Implementing random testing at the airport is as difficult as testing all passengers from certain countries, because it requires a treatment mechanism, nurses and a monitoring system, which we currently do not have, says Timo Aronkytö.
Directing passengers forward to HUS Lab or other testing points would require different systems if the passenger does not have a Finnish personal identification number, Aronkytö adds.
Aronkytö was discussing the recommendations of EU countries in Ykkösaamu on Thursday. Finland’s corona ministers will meet on Thursday evening to outline how Finland will implement the EU countries’ recommendation.
*You can discuss the topic in 6.1. until 11 p.m.*