What's going on in Uusikaupunki

20 Torstaina 19. maaliskuuta 2020 Health and Safety Good day to you! This month we are focusing on staying healthy and safe during this interesting time inworld his- tory. This is the Health and Safety edition of, “What’s going on in Uusikaupunki.” In this edition we will up- date you on the recently dec- lared, State of Emergency for Finland, talk about how you can help reduce the trans- mission of COVID19, and also check in with some fo- reigners, who are now resi- dents of Uusikaupunki, and ask them what’s going on in their home countries and how their families are doing. LET’S JUMP right into the topic of how you can help to reduce the transmission of COVID19. The best things that you can do is remem- ber to wash your hands tho- roughlywithwarmwater and soap. This is one of the best ways to do your part in the preven- tion of transmission. Also its best to avoid randomly touching your face, mouth, nose and eyes, and those of others. If you suspect, or are con- cerned, that you have been infected with the Corona vi- rus please call 02 8451 2400. There is a protocol in place and you will receive instruc- tions on what to do. Most of all, do not allow this State of Emergency to cause you to get stuck in fear or depression. Do what you can to participate in the fight and prevention of transmis- sion by practicing good hy- giene. But also make sure you are taking care of your men- tal health. Keep a good song in your heart and find a way to smile, you will feel better. Words of the month ■■ transmission – leviäminen ■■ emergency – hätätila ■■ quarantine – karanteeni ■■ Prime Minister – pääministeri State of Emergency Granger T Simmons On Monday, Finland’s new Prime Minister, Sanna Marin announced, along with other primary Mi- nisters, that Finland is in a state of Emergency due to the Corona virus. They have proposed a lockdown that would at best reduce, and hopefully prevent, the spread of COVID19 within this country. The lockdown includes the closing of the country’s bor- ders to non-Finns and non- residents, a ban on gathe- rings larger than ten people, as well as the closing down of movie theaters, swimming pools, libraries, museums and youth clubs. Additionally, the govern- ment has suggested that churches and religious com- munities also limit or cancel their gatherings as well. THE GOAL is to prevent, and ultimately stop, the transmis- sion of the virus by limiting the amount of interperso- nal exchange. With the pro- tection of risk groups at the forefront of the decision- making process, the Minis- ters have also decided that schools will be shut down officially starting Wednes- day, March 18th and will re- main closed until at least Ap- ril 13th. Daycares will be open but if you are able to keep your children home, it is recom- mended that you do so. If your job requires that you come in to work during this State of Emergency, be sure to check with your child’s daycare or school to find out what special arrangements are being made in Uusikau- punki. – There would be no point in closing schools if stu- dents just gathered at other places. You can be in pub- lic, take care of your busi- ness, walk through the train station and do necessary things. But everything un- necessary should be stop- ped, Prime Minister Sanna Marin says. Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced that Finland is in a state of Emergency due to the Corona virus. LAURA KOTILA, VALTIONEUVOSTON KANSLIA ”Thank God they are all healthy” 1. How does it feel being in a foreign country during a global pandemic? 2. How is your family back home? 3. Has there been panic in your country due to COVID19, or does it seem that things are under control? Francis, 41, Uganda 1. Keenly aware of what’s going on in Uganda and right here, but not pa- nicking. 2. Ok, so far so good. 3. So far no single case has been re- corded, but with rising cases in sur- rounding countries the authorities are ramping up screening at points of entry (hopefully that helps). Marian, 34, Romania 1.This is something so new and un- real, that it surprises you. At some point you realize that you were never prepared for this type of scenario be- fore. It feels like, something only seen inmovies is nowhappening in reality. 2. My wife and daughter are back home. They and the rest of my family calledto letmeknowthat theyaregood. They are trying to stay at home asmuch as possible. Watching the news on TV is so scary, but at the same time it keeps themupdated so that they can find out howthegovernmentisdealingwiththis. 3. Currently inRomania thereare139 cases and the government just decided that we are in a ”State of Emergency” and they closed the borders to those who would be coming from countries where are more than 500 cases. Now thepanic isnot that biganymore. Itwas pretty wild about two weeks ago when a lot of Romanianswere trying to come back fromItaly.Theborderswere full of cars andmany of the people returning, were in fact infectedwiththevirus.Also, last week there were some incidents in the markets because people wanted to buy and stock up on food in case they would end up isolated at home. Now the streets areempty, peoplehavebeen told that it is better to stay home as much as they can. They have been ad- vised to wait about two or three weeks until this thing hopefully, disappears. This is the first time in my lifetime that Romania has declared a State of Emer- gency, nobodyknowswhatwill happen next. Prince, 30, Ghana 1.I feel very curious about situations in other countries 2. My family in Ghana is fine be- cause there has not been any deaths related to the Corona virus in Ghana. It is my family outside of Ghana that I believe are in danger of getting expo- sed to the virus. 3. From the information I have re- ceived, it seems there has not been any panic in Ghana because things are under control. Mike, 33, Poland 1. At this point I don’t really feel any differently than before all of this hap- pened. Other than the information that I have heard in the news, I haven’t personally seen any signs of anything yet, so it leaves me rather indifferent. 2. My whole family is healthy thank- fully. 3. Well there is a bit of panic in big cities back home. My family is from a city that has thirty-five thousand people in it. I was talking with them yesterday and they told me that they have not seen or heard anything spe- cial yet. Also the Polish embassy re- leased a statement that any one from my country can come back to Po- land, but it is mandatory that they go through fourteen days of quarantine. Athanasios Papanikos, 24, Greece 1. Things are a bit weird right now. There are other concerns inmy country andalsoaprettybigthreatfromthisvirus. 2. My family is back in Greece but they are not all in the same city.Thank God they are all healthy.They are a little bit stressed like everyone else in Greece, but they are good 3. People do not seem to under- stand the problem with the Corona virus. Schools are closed, workpla- ces have told their employees to stay home, supermarkets have closed their doors also. Almost everything is af- fected by this but people are still going outside for a walk, going out for a cof- fee and some people have gotten to- gether to have barbecue’s and parties. I hope that we will wake up as soon as possible. We can still learn from Italy’s mistakes before it’s too late. W H A T , S G O I N G O N I N U U S I K AU P U N K I ? Granger T. Simmons Mistä on kyse? ■■ Uudenkaupungin Sanomat julkaisee kuukausittain Granger T. Simmonsin tekemänWhat’s going on -osion. Si- vustolla kerrotaan kaupunkiin muut- taneille kaupungin kuulumisia ja toi- saalta tuodaan muualta tulleiden kuu- lumiset kaupunkilaisten tietouteen. ■■ Tällä kertaa Granger kertoo korona- viruksen aiheuttamista toimenpi- teistä Uudessakaupungissa. Suomessa asuvat ulkomaalaiset kertovat, miten virus näkyy heidän arjessaan ja koti- maassaan.