Sharing a Border with Sweden Right Now is Making Me Nervous
What will happen when Finland eases restrictions?
I live 50 kilometres from Sweden. Luckily, during this pandemic, the border is a line in the sea. There’s 50km of water between where I live and the coast of Sweden.
You see, I live in Finland. And it’s not looking good for Sweden in this period of crisis.
I don’t need to read the above piece (although I did) because I am very aware that only a thirty-minute flight or two-and-a-half-hour ferry journey away, is Sweden. I am very aware they have had a very different approach in dealing with the spread of Covid-19 to other Nordic countries (Finland is part of the Nordic region but not part of Scandinavia), and other countries around the world.
Living in a Swedish-speaking autonomous province of Finland, and with many Swedes living here, almost the whole population keeps abreast of what is happening in Sweden. We get their news, their newspapers, their radio.
And it’s scary.
As of writing this, there have been 4601 deaths so far out of 42012 cases. The average daily death rate in Sweden over the past seven days is 44. Compare that to Finland’s 322 deaths from 6941 cases.
These figures make me nervous.
Finland’s approach to the pandemic has been to shut all non-essential services (restaurants, cafes, bars, libraries, museums, galleries, etc), schools, and if possible people should work from home. Those aged 70+ should isolate, limiting contact with even family members, gatherings of up to 10 people only, no visits to nursing homes or hospitals, keep 1.5m distance, supermarkets have the first hour dedicated to the 65+ age group. Anyone returning home from other countries has to go into quarantine for 14 days and all borders were closed, even for citizens, after Easter Friday.
A stark contrast to our neighbour, Sweden.
Their more flexible approach to the outbreak has asked citizens to take a voluntary approach to social distancing. For example, non-essential travel is still not recommended, journeys of up to two hours are allowed to see relatives or close friends as long as they do not involve visits to local shops and mixing with other residents.
I have family and friends who live in a town only an hour north of Stockholm and they’ve reported the town is packed with people on a weekend as residents of Stockholm visit their summer cottages — and local shops. This suggests the ‘voluntary’ part of the concept is not really working.
Dr Anders Tegnall, Sweden’s Chief Epidemiologist, has now admitted in hindsight they would have done things differently. Hindsight is not really useful when it’s too late.
I have to admit, I am more than a little bit nervous about what the future holds as Finland slowly opens up.
The community where I live is reliant on tourism to survive with the bulk of tourists traditionally coming from Sweden. Being on an archipelago has made it easier to contain the spread, but it also makes us vulnerable. To economic disaster and to the virus.
Some businesses here have already closed. Sadly, it’s likely there’ll be more to follow.
In previous economic crises, this community has survived because tourism was strong. Shipping is big business here too. This epidemic has decimated both of these — particularly cruises. Who wants to be in a floating virus petri dish?!
A cautious approach to easing restrictions here in Finland means restaurants and cafes have re-opened (with strict guidelines), schools are back (students start summer holidays today), museums and libraries are open again (I get my job back), gatherings of up to 50 people are allowed (with appropriate distancing measures). There is even restricted travel to Sweden, for example, family members able to meet but with quarantine measures on their return.
This slow easing of restrictions does ease my anxiety. I have family and friends in Sweden who I would love to see. They are so close…yet seem so far away during this time. Yet, I have family here who are in the ‘at risk’ category — 70+ with various health issues. I want to make sure they’re protected. I don’t want them to suffer, or die. So I won’t be seeing the Swedish relatives any time soon.
I go back to work soon. I’m lucky enough that my job loss was only temporary. It will be strange to see different people after being at home for so long. We still have no tourists, so the museum I work in is hoping locals come to visit. Or people from the mainland of Finland.
Maybe our borders will be open to other Nordic countries?
Norway and Denmark have opened up their borders to each other. Sweden is not included. Nor are they included in the list of countries Greece will allow tourists from as of July 1. Norway, Denmark, and Finland are all on the list.
Whether people will actually travel is another question.
Sandwiched between Sweden and Russia (who have recorded 5520 Covid-19 deaths according to John Hopkins University & Medicine), Finland has to be cautious about how they manage any easing of restrictions as both neighbours have different approaches to this epidemic. A terrifying balance between economic considerations and the health of citizens and residents.
Meanwhile, all of us who live here wait patiently for the next set of guidelines. What will open next? When will cross-border travel start again? How will that work?
Summer is approaching. There’s the promise of long days and sunshine. It will certainly be a quiet summer — we normally see around one million tourists a year here. A different summer.
As for my anxiety levels, let’s hope the borders open later rather than sooner.
~thanks for reading~
Lisa is a resident of Finland, Australian by birth. She is a poet, writer, and teacher, also working in a maritime museum. You can keep in touch via Northern Notes or check out For The Love.
