Finland’s 36-Year-Old PM Went Clubbing ’til 4AM and Missed a COVID Alert Text

Finland’s Prime Minister has apologised after photos emerged showing her out late clubbing despite knowing she had been exposed to coronavirus.

Sanna Marin, 36, has been criticised after a gossip magazine published photos of her clubbing on Saturday morning despite her foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto, testing positive for the virus hours before. 

The Seiska magazine spoke to witnesses who saw her dancing in the Butchers nightclub where she stayed until almost four in the morning.

“We had spent some free time in Helsinki with my husband on the Independence Day weekend,” the Social Democrat wrote on Facebook. “Our daughter had been taken care of by her grandparents in Tampere. We'd gone out for dinner, shopping in the city, saw our friends and spent time [enjoying] the evening and nightlife as well.”

According to the post, Marin was informed by the Secretary of State that she had been exposed to coronavirus but was told there were no “special measures” and “no ministers will be quarantined because everyone has two vaccines and full vaccine protection.”

She later admitted that she missed a text telling her to isolate as she did not have her state council work phone on her during the evening. On Sunday, when she saw the message, she took a test which showed she was negative.

“I should have used better consideration on Saturday night,” she said. “I'm really sorry that I didn't understand how to do this.”

Finland's coronavirus guidelines do not require people who have been double-jabbed to isolate if they come into contact with the virus. However they advise people to voluntarily avoid social contact if they are waiting to do a COVID test. Guidelines for government ministers also advise government ministers to limit social contact after exposure to the virus.

Although Finland has had one of the lowest death rates during the pandemic – with only  1,384 deaths in a country of 5.5 million – infections are now at a record high in the country, which has recorded eight cases of the new Omicron variant.