Finnish leader says sorry for going clubbing after close Covid contact

The prime minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, has apologised after she went out clubbing when she had come into close contact with a Covid-19 case.

Only hours after her foreign minister had tested positive for coronavirus, Sanna Marin headed on a night out in Helsinki.

After initially being told she did not need to isolate because she had been fully vaccinated, she later missed a text that advised her to do so.

Critics questioned Marin’s judgment for not isolating until testing negative.

The 36-year-old said the text message that advised her to avoid social contact was sent to her work phone, which she had left at home.

When she saw the text on Sunday, the Social Democratic prime minister urgently sought a Covid test and the result

came back negative. Marin defended her actions at first, arguing that she had followed the advice of her secretary of state.

But in a Facebook post on Monday, she said she should have doublechecked the guidance and used better judgment.

“I am very sorry for not understanding that I needed to do that,” she wrote.

Under Covid guidelines in Finland, anyone who is double-jabbed does not need to isolate if they come into contact with a positive case.

But the guidelines do advise people to voluntarily avoid social contact if they are waiting for access to a Covid test.

And according to Finland’s Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, separate guidelines for government ministers and employees also recommend limiting social contact immediately after exposure.

Marin has faced criticism since a gossip magazine published photos of her at a Helsinki nightclub with friends on Saturday.

The Seiska magazine said it spoke to witnesses who saw her dancing at the Butchers club, where she stayed until 4am.

Opposition politicians suggested she should have set a good example by isolating voluntarily.

Sanna Marin.