Finland blocks roads to Helsinki to curb coronavirus spread

Police and the Finnish army set up roadblocks on all routes that connect Helsinki with the rest of the country, while Finland’s parliament approved the plan at the last moment to enforce the capital region’s coronavirus blockade by midnight on Friday.

Finland’s government decided on Wednesday to issue a three-week blockade of the region around Helsinki, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in Finland, to prevent people from travelling and spreading the virus elsewhere in the country. But the decision needed parliament’s approval, which it granted unanimously late on Friday.

Travelling to and from the Uusimaa region will be prohibited until April 19, with certain exceptions such as goods deliveries and indispensable work-related commuting.

By Friday, authorities had counted seven deaths and 1,025 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Finland, most of them in the capital region.

Read more via Reuters