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MTV: Top doc in Finland wants to remove Covid from dangerous disease list

THL still estimates that another Covid wave is possible in the autumn, but the head of the organisation questions quarantine and isolation measures in stopping its spread.

Mika Salminen vierailulla Yle Radio 1:n Ykkösaamussa 24. heinäkuuta 2020.
THL Director Mika Salminen wants to remove Covid from the list of dangerous common infectious diseases. Image: Tommi Pylkkö / Yle
  • Yle News

Covid-19, which is on the list of dangerous common infectious diseases, no longer meets the criteria of the list, Mika Salminen, Director of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), said to media outlet MTV.

A disease is considered a public health threat if it is highly contagious, dangerous and its spread can be prevented by measures taken against the person affected or exposed to it.

Salminen questioned quarantine and isolation measures, as he saw them as unlikely to stop the spread of Covid.

"We have a vaccine and the disease is not dangerous for all people. For some, of course, it may still be. In general, dangerous common infectious diseases are those with a high mortality rate or that cause widespread disability," Salminen told MTV.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health believes that there is no need to rush into removing Covid from the list, but that the situation should be monitored.

According to THL, another Covid wave is possible in the autumn.