Quarantine life according to this citizen of Finland: From quiet to silent.
“I live in a small city, Kauhava, located in Mid-West of Finland. Life in this sleepy, small town is usually quiet, but not silent. Sports in various forms are popular, same goes with other aspects of culture. Now near-all activities are closed: the library, our only year-round bar, sports clubs and other guided hobbies are on hold alongside with many local businesses – the quiet has become silent.
Finns are not big on hugs and kisses. Small talk is non-existent and personal space is respected. One could say the average Finn practices social distancing by default. In my town the threshold of five confirmed cases of the SARS-COV19 virus infections hasn´t been met, so the national record shows no cases for the town. This hasn´t stopped people from doing an excellent job with preventing possible spread of the virus.
Face masks are not used as of now, 30th of March as I´m writing this, but people are staying home for the most part. We haven´t experienced full lockdown here; we´ve been allowed to go out for a walk etc. the whole time. Yet I see very few people when going to the grocery store to buy the essentials.
Schools are going to be gradually re-opened 14th of May. Many are worried how this will affect the situation. Also, the impacts for many businesses and workers is worrying us all. I must say, I´m really proud to see how well my fellow residents are dealing with the situation.” -Juho Laaksonen
Mikl Moose 