The sale of some commonly used medicines will be restricted in Finland in order to ensure enough availability during the next predicted coronavirus wave.

Users of the painkiller paracetamol and of the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone will only be allowed to buy up to three months' supply in one go, under special measures which are to be introduced immediately and continue until January next year.

The limits aim to “prepare for a possible increase in the global demand” if coronavirus cases spike over the autumn and winter, a statement from the health ministry said.

“We are taking this step so that even if the problems continue with the supply and logistics of paracetamol, we will have enough for every patient who needs it,” senior health ministry specialist Noora Oinonen told AFP.