フィンランド首相、コロナ感染者と接触後にクラブで夜明かし

【ヘルシンキＡＦＰ＝時事】フィンランドのサンナ・マリン首相（３６）が先週末、新型コロナウイルス感染者と接触したにもかかわらず、クラブで夜明かししていたことが明らかになり、批判の的になっている。（写真は欧州連合＜ＥＵ＞首脳会議の会場入りするフィンランドのサンナ・マリン首相）
　同国では４日、ペッカ・ハービスト外相が新型コロナ検査で陽性と判定された。それにもかかわらずマリン氏は同日夜、首都ヘルシンキのクラブに行き、翌朝４時近くまで友人と踊っていた。この時の写真が６日、ゴシップ誌セイスカに掲載され、マリン氏は即日謝罪した。
　マリン氏はフェイスブックに「夫と私は、外食したり、街で買い物したり、友人と会ったり、夜とナイトライフを楽しんだりした」と投稿。感染者と接触したが、新型コロナ対策ガイドラインによれば自主隔離の必要はないと当局者に言われたと釈明した。
　その上で「もっと分別を働かせ、ガイドラインを再確認すべきだった。その必要性を理解していなかったことを大変申し訳なく思う」と謝罪した。
　テレビ局ＭＴＶ３が実施した世論調査では、３分の２がマリン氏の夜遊びを「重大な過ち」だと思うと回答した。
　野党はマリン氏がガイドラインに違反した可能性があることや、後に送られた自主隔離を促すメールを見落としていたことを非難した。
　マリン氏は２０１９年、世界最年少で首相に就任した。これまでも公邸でのパーティーや、ソーシャルメディアで公開した友人との写真やアクセサリーの宣伝じみた投稿などで批判されてきた。
　マリン氏はフィンランド放送協会（ＹＬＥ）の番組で「私は若い世代の代表」であり、「もちろん、それは仕事の仕方や生き方に反映されている」と語っていた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/12/09-13:19）

Finland's prime minister came under sustained criticism on Tuesday after it was revealed she stayed out dancing until the early hours on the weekend despite knowing she had been exposed to Covid-19.
Sanna Marin, 36, apologised on Monday after a gossip magazine published photos of her attending a Helsinki nightclub on Saturday night until almost four in the morning, hours after her Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto tested positive for coronavirus.
My husband and I... had been out to eat, been shopping in town, seen friends and also spent time [enjoying] the evening and nightlife, the Social Democrat leader wrote on Facebook.
She added that she was told by an official that the coronavirus guidelines did not require her to isolate, despite having been in contact with an infected person.
I should have used better judgement and double-checked the guidance given to me. I am very sorry for not understanding that I needed to do that, Marin wrote.
A poll commissioned by TV channel MTV3 found that two-thirds of respondents thought Marin's night out was a serious mistake.
Opposition parties also slammed Marin for potentially breaking official Covid guidelines and for missing a later text message warning her to isolate.
Finance Minister Annika Saarikko from the Centre Party, the ruling coalition partner, stopped short of criticising Marin directly.
However Saarikko told newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that she was glad I was at home when she received the text message to isolate, adding that she had cancelled her plans for the next day.
Finland has sustained some of Europe's lowest incidences of the virus throughout the pandemic, recording more than 196,000 cases and 1,384 deaths in the country of 5.5 million.
However infections are now at an all-time high, with 308 new cases per 100,000 population in the last fortnight. The country has also recorded eight cases of the new Omicron variant.
On Monday, magazine Seiska reported that Marin was seen in the Butchers nightclub in Helsinki, dancing with friends until nearly four.
Marin, who became the world's youngest prime minister when appointed in 2019, has previously been the target of criticism over parties at her official residence and social media posts in which she poses with friends or appears to promote fashion accessories.
In October she responded to critics with an Instagram post quoting a Finnish pop song that said: Hey boom-boom-boomer, put some ice in your hat and cool it.
I'm a representative of the younger generation, she later told broadcaster Yle, and yes, that's reflected in the way I do my work and how I live, Marin said.