On Monday 30 March, the Finnish government decided to extend the duration of the previously imposed restrictions until 13 May 2020. The government will issue these new restrictions to the parliament on Tuesday 31 March. With this decision, schools will remain closed, the previously set limitations on public gatherings will remain effective and other measures taken with the Emergency Powers Act will be extended by one month. The government is prepared to extend the exceptional arrangements in education until the end of the spring term if this is deemed necessary to contain the pandemic.
Tomorrow, the government will submit a decree to the parliament on the closure of restaurants, cafés and premises where alcohol is served. The purpose of the closures is to protect the population and to safeguard the functioning of society. The restrictions on opening hours are effective until 31 May 2020, but takeaway food services are permitted. Due to the epidemic, the government also decided to swiftly begin preparing tighter limits to traffic at the national borders in the north and west, and the traffic between the Region of Uusimaa and other regions will be restricted until 19 April 2020. For more information, go to the Finnish Government’s website.
TREY’s updated news article on corona can be found here and the Intra page on the topic here.