Pirkanmaa’s Pandemic Control Group issued tougher coronavirus restrictions on 24 November 2020 as the coronavirus situation in Pirkanmaa has worsened considerably during the past two weeks.
Due to the high demand for influenza vaccination, new vaccination appointments cannot be booked from the health centres in Tampere or Orivesi. Vaccinations at child welfare clinics and school and student health services for people who belong to a risk group will continue as normal until further notice.
Tampere and Tampere Region’s European Capital of Culture application is moving on to a new phase with the appointment of three parties to a creative committee to lead the process. The team will lead the development of the creative programme for the Capital of Culture year. The programme content has been developed by industry professionals through, among other things, an open call for programme proposals.
In 2018, the first humanoid robot Elias arrived at the Tammelan koulu school with the Smart Tampere Digitalization Program experiment. Its jovial nature, encouraging teaching style and smooth moves instantly appealed to both pupils and teachers.
This year, Tampere Christmas Market will open in two stages: the restaurants and some of the cottages will open for Christmas on Saturday, 28 November, and the whole market will be open from 4 December. There will be no major event to open the proceedings and other new arrangements have also been introduced to Christmas Market so that the area will be safe both for vendors and customers.
The city of Tampere in Finland was one of the six finalists in the Smart City Award competition. This year’s award is given to Shangai, China. The award is given to a city that has created an exceptionally extensive strategy that takes residents into account and brings together different projects, initiatives and operating principles.
A 24/7 Medical Helpline 116 117 will be launched in the Tampere Region in January 2021. The helpline serves all residents in the Tampere Region outside the opening hours of local health centres. A nurse assesses whether urgent care is needed and guides the caller to the correct location for medical care. The helpline nurses also offer help and self care guidance for sudden health problems.
Tammelakeskus Health Centre in Tampere is introducing a new operating model on 16 November 2020, in which the health centre’s own multi-professional team responds to customers’ contacts. At the same time, the health centre’s contact channels will change.
Tampere is the only Nordic city to be included in the final of the international smart city competition. The competition is hosted by the annual fair and conference event Smart City Expo held in Barcelona, Spain. The winner will be announced on 18 November.
Voting in participatory budgeting in Tampere takes place on 1–30 November 2020. The citizens of Tampere vote for the utilisation of EUR 450,000 for the benefit of children and young people. The project includes 120 proposals. Citizens get to choose and vote for the proposal of their choosing. All proposals can be viewed on the mun.tampere.fi website where the voting takes place. All citizens of Tampere who are 12 years of age or older this year are eligible to vote.