Schools and municipalities currently have varying practices regarding the reporting of students' Covid infections and Covid-related exposures.

Helsingin Sanomat reported on Wednesday about infections detected at a school in Sipoonlahti, where neither the school nor municipality initially reported the exposure in accordance with its own policy. Information about infections inside the school initially spread on a Whatsapp group chat among parents. Since the discovery, three entire classes have been quarantined.

Laura Francke, a lawyer at the National Board of Education, encourages municipalities to be more open.

"From the point of view of the National Board of Education, openness is encouraged. No one's individual health information can be revealed, but there is an opportunity to spread information on a general level," Francke said in an interview with Yle and Ykkösaamu on Thursday morning.

Tea Nieminen, an infectious disease specialist at the New Children's Hospital of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District, agrees with Francke.

"Communication through the Wilma-system seems appropriate in this case. It seems odd that no one was informed. You need that information to be able to get tested in case symptoms appear," Nieminen said in Yle's morning programme.

According to Nieminen, schools are not considered high-risk and the spread of Covid infections is not very common. Both Francke and Nieminen agree that health protocols are at a good level in schools and there is no need to tighten the reins.

Children have "immunity debt"

In the past two weeks, the highest number of Covid infections has been reported in 10- to 19-year-olds. The under-10 age group lags only slightly behind. According to Nieminen, this is because under-12s are not yet vaccinated in Finland, and those aged 12-15 were the last group to start vaccinations.

"The virus is looking for a population that is vulnerable to it. Our kids are all unvaccinated, and now there are more infections among them than before," said Nieminen.

It seems inevitable that unvaccinated children under the age of 12 will be infected with Covid.

"Experts have said that a population that does not get vaccinated will get sick. That applies to both adults and children. When exactly this will happen, we don't know," said Nieminen.

Many children are currently suffering from a wide variety of respiratory diseases, some of which are more severe than the symptoms caused by Covid. Covid is often mild, or even asymptomatic, in children, Nieminen points out.

"Due to social restrictions, children have not been exposed to viruses that build up resistance. There has been talk of an 'immunity debt' that may have consequences as soon as this autumn. Children have a lot of other infections and the RS virus epidemic has been exceptionally severe in many countries," Nieminen said in the Ykkösaamu programme.