Quarantine and isolation
Please note, that COVID-19 is no longer defined as a generally hazardous communicable disease but as a monitored communicable disease.
For this reason, quarantine and isolation instructions no longer apply to COVID-19. The amendment made by the Government entered into force on 30 June 2023.
Coronavirus infections can be prevented by the same means as other respiratory tract infections.
If you have been exposed to coronavirus, you can continue your normal everyday life and act as if you had been exposed to another respiratory tract infection.
See more: Preventing respiratory tract infections
If you experience symptoms of a respiratory tract infection, you can treat them like other sudden respiratory tract infections. It is a good idea to stay at home when you are ill until the symptoms have clearly decreased.
Self-treatment of respiratory tract infections (Terveyskylä, in Finnish)
The instructions below apply to official quarantine and isolation ordered by a communicable disease control physician.
Infectious Diseases Act 1227/2016 (in Finnish)
Quarantine
Official quarantine is an administrative decision made by a communicable disease control physician. A communicable disease control physician may order an asymptomatic person to be quarantined if he or she has been exposed to a generally hazardous infectious disease and the transmission of the disease cannot be prevented otherwise.
Some infectious diseases may become contagious before the actual symptoms develop. The purpose of quarantine is to prevent an asymptomatic person from infecting others.
The infectious disease authority in your home municipality provides detailed instructions on quarantine.
The length of the quarantine is decided by a communicable disease control physician on a case-by-case basis. Staying quarantined is a statutory obligation, not voluntary.
Isolation
Isolation means that a person with a generally hazardous infectious disease is isolated from those who are healthy. The purpose is to avoid possible further transmissions. A communicable disease control physician gives the order to isolate and determines the duration of isolation.
The infectious disease authority in your home municipality provides detailed instructions on isolation.
The length of the quarantine is decided by a communicable disease control physician on a case-by-case basis. Staying isolated is a statutory obligation, not voluntary.
According to section 7 of the Communicable Diseases Act, THL acts as a national expert institute of infectious disease control and provides instructions to the population on how to avoid infection and prevent the spread of disease. The guidelines issued by THL are not legally binding.
If you suspect that you have the coronavirus infection, take an online medical COVID-19 symptom check-up to see if you need to seek treatment.
In some municipalities, the Omaolo symptom assessment allows you to make a test appointment or provides instructions on how to make an appointment.
You can find information on these websites and in other advisory services:
- Development of the epidemic
- Preventing respiratory tract infections
- Guidelines for travellers (Finnish Border Guard)
- COVID-19 certificates: kanta.fi
In questions related to your health or vaccinations, contact health care services.