Finnish PM Is Criticized For Dancing In Club Until Midnight Despite She Had Just Interacted With COVID Patients

Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland (Twitter @MarinSanna)

JAKARTA - Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has come under intense criticism after she was caught dancing until the early hours of the weekend despite knowing she had been exposed to COVID-19.

Sanna Marin, 36, apologized after gossip magazines released photos of her at a Helsinki nightclub Saturday night until nearly four in the morning. Whereas the Foreign Minister of Pekka Haavisto has just tested positive for the coronavirus.

"My husband and I... go out to eat, shop in the city, meet friends and also spend time (enjoying) the evening and nightlife," the Social Democrat leader wrote on Facebook.

Marin said he was told by an official that the coronavirus guidelines did not require him to isolate, despite having been in contact with an infected person.

"I should have used better judgment and double-checked the guidance given to me. I'm so sorry I didn't understand that I needed to do that," Marin wrote.

Opposition parties have also criticized Marin for potentially violating official COVID-19 guidelines and for missing text messages warning her to isolate.

Finland has experienced some of the lowest incidences of the virus in Europe during the pandemic, recording more than 196.000 cases and 1.384 deaths in the country of 5.5 million.

But infections are now at an all-time high, with 308 new cases per 100.000 population in the past two weeks. The country has also recorded eight cases of the new Omicron variant.

On Monday, Seiska magazine reported that Marin was spotted at the Butchers nightclub in Helsinki, dancing with friends until almost four o'clock.