Finnish newspaper Ilta Sanomat describes it as a "disaster night" in Vuokatti on March 14.

Leena Nurmi, last year's World Cup rider, was one of those who traveled to the city to set up a race that was canceled at short notice when the Finnish government banned crowds of more than 500 people.

- We knew that the season would probably be interrupted and so we decided to meet and celebrate that the season was over, Nurmi tells Ilta Sanomat.

In the evening, they chose to go to a big party with about 1500 participants, far more than the government's recommendations, and all 30 corona cases confirmed in the region have been traced back to that evening.

Skiers Leena Nurmi, 26, and Anni Alakoski, 22, are two of those infected. Alakoski made four World Cup contests during the last season.

- The virus spread because of that weekend, I'm sure of that, says Nurmi.

According to Nurmi, at least five other skiers besides her were infected.

- I noticed immediately that this is not a normal disease. It worked in the muscles in a completely different way than ever before. In addition, I was tired, had a headache, a sore throat and lost taste, Alakoski tells Finnish Yle.

Alakoski suffers from asthma and says the disease is worse than anything else she has suffered before.

- What traces does the virus leave in my lungs? Will my oxygen uptake recover? I can only imagine what the consequences will be for older people, after all, I am young and elite athlete but still got really bad, she says.

CLIP: Infection protection expert: How corona spreads outdoors (April 3, 2020)

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