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Finland’s prime minister said she’s sorry for partying it up without a mask at a club just hours after a member of her cabinet tested positive for COVID-19.
Sanna Marin, 36, apologized on Facebook on Monday for dancing with friends until about 4 a.m. at Butchers nightclub in Helsinki, where photos reportedly show the world leader not wearing a mask after Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto came down positive for the virus.
Marin and Haavisto had been in close proximity just a day earlier, Bloomberg reported.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Marin said she was told she didn’t need to isolate because she had been fully vaccinated, but missed a text message later Saturday advising her to quarantine until she tested negative.
Marin claimed the mix-up happened because the message advising her to isolate was sent to another phone, which she had left at home. She said she got the message on Sunday and immediately got tested. The result was negative, Marin said.
Marin made a lengthy apology for her late-night outing on social media. Facebook/Sanna Marin“I should have used better judgment on Saturday night and checked the instruction I received a second time,” she wrote in the post. “I am really sorry that I did not understand this.”
The prime minister didn’t break any official rules with the late nightclub visit without a mask after the exposure since Finnish authorities do not routinely quarantine fully vaccinated people, Bloomberg reported.
Still, critics from the right-wing Finns party accused Marin of being indifferent and careless by leaving one of her work phones at home, the Independent reported.
Marin became the country’s youngest prime minister two years ago. AFP via Getty ImagesMarin told reporters Wednesday she was unaware of guidelines for government ministers and employees to limit social contact immediately after being exposed to the virus, according to the BBC.
She again apologized for her actions Wednesday as opposition politicians suggested she should have voluntarily isolated rather than hitting a club, BBC reported.
Marin, who leads Finland’s Social Democratic Party, became the country’s youngest-ever prime minister in 2019. The country has fared better than most other European nations regarding coronavirus deaths, tallying 1,384 fatalities, according to reports.
