Concerns over the spread of coronavirus in public events have forced the Irish Embassy in Finland to cancel their plans for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations for the time being.
The embassy had planned to hold two official events next Tuesday 17th March in the capital, but advised attendees the event is postponed as a “precautionary measure”.
“I know this will be disappointing to many” says Acting Ambassador Eddie Brannigan.
“We are disappointed to pull the event, but I think that people will understand the reasons. We’ll look at the situation again later in the year” he tells News Now Finland.
Several other Irish Embassies in Europe have already announced the postponement of their St. Patrick’s Day events - a cultural highlight for members of the estimated 850-strong Irish community, and many others in Finland.
Institutions cutting back on public events
A number of Finnish institutions have also announced they’re cutting back on events that would normally involve members of the public.
Parliament announced on Tuesday that it would stop guided visits and tour groups “as a precautionary measure to safeguard the work of Parliament.”
A Youth Parliament meeting scheduled for the end of March has already been canceled, and Parliament has set up a preparedness team headed by a physician to monitor the situation and look at any extra measures they might have to take to keep politicians and staff safe.
A spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tells News Now Finland that they have limited outbound travel for staff to only include “essential meetings”, while some incoming media trips have been canceled.
There is also a general recommendation to staff to use video conferencing where possible, but that events and meetings in Helsinki haven’t yet been canceled - although this might likely change in the coming days and weeks.
Meanwhile the European Commission office in Helsinki says they haven’t canceled any meetings yet but are making the assessment on a case-by-case basis.
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