Finland there is a heated debate about face masks. With most of the Nordic countries, Finland is one of the few places in the world where no general face mask recommendation or compulsion has been issued.

Of the Nordic countries, Iceland said on Thursday that it would tighten measures against the spread of the coronavirus. For the first time in Iceland, a mask obligation will be introduced on public transport, domestic flights, ferries and hairdressing salons.

The new restrictions will take effect on Friday and will last for at least two weeks.

Most countries in the world has introduced a mask compulsion or at least a recommendation to use a mask in public places to combat a coronavirus pandemic.

In June, the World Health Organization (WHO) changed its recommendation on the use of the mask. The WHO now recommends the mask for use in public transport, workplaces and grocery stores, for example.

Finland no general mask recommendation or compulsion has been issued throughout the period of the coronavirus epidemic. In healthcare, masks are used, and by individual actors such as the airline Finnair and University of Tampere, have prescribed mask packs.

The Government has not issued a general recommendation on the use of a face mask. In the fight against the coronavirus epidemic, the Finnish government recommends, among other things, keeping safety gaps, coughing up a sleeve or handkerchief, washing hands diligently and paying attention to people at risk.

The position of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has not changed during the epidemic. THLs website still reads, there is no evidence that extensive use of the mask in healthy individuals would help reduce infections.

Also, according to the WHO, scientific research still does not clearly show how much the widespread use of masks by ordinary people would be. However, the recommendation was amended because experience has been gained in different countries with the benefit of the mask, especially when it is not possible to maintain safety distances.

Finland mask recommendation or coercion has been put down especially for such situations. Assistant Chief Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (Hus) Eeva Ruotsalainen recalls that safety gaps do not work, for example, on public transport.

Thats when the face mask provides protection to prevent the spread of the epidemic, as the disease mainly spreads by inhalation. Therefore, a face mask is able to combat the epidemic. I recommend it in congestion areas and I also hope for a national recommendation, especially if the incidence of the disease starts to increase, says Ruotsalainen.

Huss director of diagnostics Lasse Lehtonen is on the same lines as the Swede.

I think the recommendations of the WHO and the European Office of Communicable Diseases are good and up-to-date. They recommend using masks in situations where distances cannot be maintained. It is justified to use them in public transport, for example. In Finland, it would be good to practice it on trains, buses and metros.

However, Lehtonen is not any proponent of mask coercion.

They should be available and a social pressure should be created where they would just start to be used. With people now returning to work, its pretty hard to keep their distance on the subway and buses. In that sense, the mask recommendation would be quite justified, says Lehtonen.

On Friday Hanna Ollila and Liisa Laine wrote in HSs Guest Pen writing that their study found that face shields reduce the risk of a respiratory infection by a third.

The protective effect is large and statistically significant. Masks are most useful when combined with safety gaps and hand washing. Ollila and Laine write.

We propose that a mask recommendation be introduced in Finland, especially in areas of active epidemics and in public transport, together with good hand hygiene, avoidance of close contact and testing and tracing.

Ollila is a team leader at the Finnish Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Helsinki and a researcher at Stanford University in the United States. Laine is a postdoctoral researcher at the Leonard Davis Institute of the University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Virus Infectious Status has remained stable in Finland. During the last follow-up week (20-26 July), 51 cases were reported to the Communicable Diseases Register, THL. During the week, an average of four thousand coronavirus tests were performed per day.

Number of tests has risen since June.

Assistant Professor of Threatening Infectious Diseases at the University of Helsinki Tarja Sironen stated In an interview with HS last weekthat although the situation is good in Finland, it is still bad in the world.

Once the borders are open, it is clear that there will be more cases. Maybe it would be good to learn how to use a mask, get them at home and watch how the situation changes, Sironen estimates.

According to Husin Lehtonen, the mask recommendation is also about educating the attitude of the population:

Finland does not have the same attitude to the use of masks as, for example, in Asian countries. Its a new thing for us, but we also learned to use our hands quickly and we would certainly learn masks if we just started practicing, says Lehtonen.

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Coronavirus Many specialists now advocate the usage of masks: The protecting impact is giant and statistically important - Pledge Times