COVID-19 epidemic worsening — text message alert to remind public of regional guidelines 

In the past few weeks, the COVID-19 epidemic has worsened almost everywhere in Finland. Because the situation varies from region to region, the recommendations and restrictions may also vary. 

The aim of the recommendations and restrictions is to prevent the spread of COVID-19, safeguard the resource capacity of the healthcare system and shield and protect people, especially those in risk groups.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has agreed with Finnish mobile network operators and the Emergency Response Centre Agency that the operators will send a COVID-19 alert from the Ministry to their subscribers via text message. 

The text message urges people to follow the recommendations and restrictions in place in order to stop the spread of the disease. The message reads: “MSAH Epidemic alert:COVID-19 is worsening in Finland. Protect yourself & others. Please follow regional recommendations & restrictions. Read more thl.fi/regions”.

The regional recommendations and restrictions are available on the websites of the hospital districts. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare has compiled the addresses of these websites on one page:

• The COVID-19 epidemic: regional situation, recommendations and restrictions (THL)

The text message is one of the measures used to convey information about the worsening COVID-19 situation. The text will be sent in Finnish, Swedish, English and North Saami. 

The operators will start sending the messages on Wednesday 2 December. They will receive the assignment before noon and the service will start soon after that. The messages will be sent in stages so people may receive them at different times. 

Inquiries:

Pekka Tulokas, Director for Preparedness, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, tel. +358 295 163 202, [email protected]