Recommendations and restrictions

The recommendation to wear a face mask is no longer valid.

Wearing a mask is still recommended in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area in the following circumstances:  

• If you are in transit to a coronavirus test or treatment due to a suspected infection 
• If you have symptoms of a respiratory tract infection and must move about in public 
• If you know you have been exposed to the coronavirus (for example, a family member has tested positive) and you must move about in public  
• If you pay a visit to social and health services as a client, patient or visitor, or if you are an employee of these services, in line with guidelines from the relevant authorities.  

With this decision, the separate recommendations to use a mask at schools, universities and other learning institutions in the area will also end. Those who wish to continue using a mask are free to do so, and masks will continue to be distributed at no cost to students and staff of city schools and learning institutions. 

The COVID-19 passport is not at the moment required at the city’s services.

Suspension of the national COVID-19 passport ended on February 28, 2022, after which, the passport may exempt one from restrictions. If there are no restrictions, the passport is not needed. In other words, the situation is the same as in the fall, before suspension of the COVID-19 passport. In principle, the COVID-19 passport will remain in use for as long as the Communicable Diseases Act’s stipulations related to it remain in force, in other words, till the end of June.

Read often asked questions about the COVID-19 passport on the Kanta.fi service.

When arranging hobby activities, the following are recommended:

• the hobby group shall assemble in the same composition,
• contacts with other hobby groups shall be avoided,
• people with flu symptoms shall not participate in hobby activities,
• general instructions for hand hygiene and cough etiquette shall be applied to hobby activities,
• unnecessary physical contacts shall be avoided in hobby activities,
• potential seats for participants shall be sufficiently far from one another and all staying on the premises shall be arranged with as much space available as possible,
• coaches and over-12-year-olds are strongly recommended to wear a face mask indoors, unless absolutely prevented by health reasons. You do not have to wear a face mask while exercising. 
• The organizers of activities shall instruct everybody participating in hobby activities to observe the health-security instructions given,
• use of hobby and dressing premises by people other than the participants and coaches shall be minimized,
• the Regional State Administrative Agency’s decisions on public events shall be applied to the audience in competitions, matches, and tournaments. 
• The above principles should also be applied to outdoor hobby activities, to the extent applicable. See paragraph Public events.

In order to prevent the coronavirus from spreading and in order to track infections, it is important that everybody participating in a hobby group be recorded.

The nation-wide recommendation for remote working ended on February 28, 2022.

The metropolitan area coronavirus coordination group recommends that, as of March 1, wide-scope remote working can, in stages, be turned into a combination of remote working and working from the office.

You can meet your friends and relatives living in care homes indoors. The special housing services’ housing units also utilize alternative meeting options. The safety and practical measures applied to alternative meeting options and indoor meetings have been approved by Vantaa Communicable Diseases and Infection Control unit. Ask the housing unit for more detailed information.

The Communicable Diseases Act's general hygiene requirements—whose purpose is to improve health security—will remain valid throughout Finland until June 30, 2022.

All public and private customer premises shall have:

• The possibility of cleaning hands either by washing or by using hand sanitizer.
• Sufficient hygiene instructions.
• Potential seats for participants shall be sufficiently far from one another and staying on the premises otherwise shall be arranged with as much space available as possible.
• Enhanced cleaning of premises and surfaces.

(§58 c of the Communicable Diseases Act)

Public and private actors’ sports, exercise, entertainment, and refreshment premises may remain open. Nevertheless, the premises must account for health security. See Rules applied to customer premises.

The Government decides on restrictions applied to restaurants. You will find the valid restrictions on the Government’s website.

The metropolitan area’s restrictions on public events were lifted on Monday, February 14, 2022.

Nevertheless, using the premises must account for health security. The actors shall themselves assess the measures with which the risk of infection can be prevented. In addition, the Communicable Diseases Act's general hygiene requirements—whose purpose is to improve health security—will remain valid throughout Finland until June 30, 2022. See Rules applied to customer premises.

Organizers of private events are advised to adhere to the recommendations for health security given.