On Tuesday, the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland (Avi) decided to tighten the restrictions on public gatherings in Helsinki and its neighboring municipalities in Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa from Friday 20 August.
Only 25 people are allowed to gather indoors according to the rules and they have to stay two meters apart.
In practice, this means that indoor hobbies (including childrenโs hobbies), concerts and large events are very difficult to organize and many are canceled or postponed.
The restrictions will remain in effect until September 12.
Mr Avi stated that the coronavirus situation in the Helsinki metropolitan area had clearly deteriorated and that the area had been redefined at the time of the Community’s spread.
According to its latest decision, public events and general meetings in Espoo, Helsinki, Kauniainen and Vantaa can only be held with a maximum of 25 people indoors and with a maximum of 50 people in restricted outdoor areas.
Arrangements need to ensure that participants can really avoid close contact, the agency said. It defines close contact as being less than two meters apart for more than 15 minutes indoors or in physical contact indoors or outdoors.
The only way for organizers to exceed audience limits is to divide the audience into separate restricted areas, each with seats below the maximum of 25 or 50, and to ensure that participants can avoid close contact.
Clear protection zones must be established between each block, and each block must have its own entrance and exit, toilets, possible catering services and staff. Blocks can use the same services if their use is staggered and if they are properly cleaned between uses.
Most hobbies are prohibited
AVI restrictions do not apply to private events. These are recommendations from hospital districts and municipalities.
The rules apply to events organized by municipalities and other local authorities, businesses and religious communities.
The rule applies to interiors with more than 10 participants at the same time. The corresponding limit for outdoor use is 50.
In high-risk areas, such as indoor sports facilities, the regulation must be complied with, even if there are fewer customers at a time. The rules do not apply to educational institutions, including early childhood education, professional sports, or private or family events, but hobbies organized by clubs and others must be followed.
Avin’s chief physician Mikko Valkonen said the rules exist for a reason, and legal responsibility lies with hobbies, sports, and event organizers, but people must also take responsibility.
"I would say that the primary responsibility still lies with the individual," said Valkonen. "It is not mandatory to go and play there. Every sensible person should understand it and leave."
Finnkino: Significant impact on the film industry
The first reactions of the event organizers were miserable.
The nationโs largest movie chain, Finnkino, said Thursday "very disappointed" with new restrictions. So far, the safety distances of cinemas have been two meters, and only 20 percent of capacity has been used.
With the new restrictions, capacity will be further reduced and each cinema will only accommodate 25 people. In some cases, theaters can be divided into blocks.
"The new restrictions will have a dramatic effect on Finnkino’s operations. We are very disappointed with these decisions. This will have a major impact on the film industry as a whole, as visitors will fall significantly," the chain’s sales director said Hannele Wolf-Mannila.
Finnkino considers the decision to restrict the meeting to be unfair and claims that the event industry has been treated more severely than other sectors.
"Throughout this coronavirus epidemic, no chain of infection has been detected in cinemas in Finland or around the world. In addition, this area is already the most limited," Wolf-Mannila said.
Wolf-Mannila called on the government to develop a clearer policy on how the event and cultural sector can operate in the future.
"We are still in a situation where we get to know a week before we can run our business. That makes this quite difficult. We want to send a message to the government that stronger action is needed now," he said.
Helsinki Ice Rink: “Paralyzes almost all functions”
Helsinki Ice Rink said on Thursday that it will discuss with the event organizers whether the events can be organized with smaller audiences divided into blocks.
However, according to the CEO Tom Kivimรคki, it is virtually certain that transactions must be canceled or postponed. The ice rink has more than 8,000 seats.
The venue now features the Queen musical and was scheduled to host Angry Birds on Ice as well as several pop and rock concerts in September and October – some of which have already been moved from previous dates.
"This paralyzes virtually everything we do. Itโs a 100 percent stop; you could say" he said.
According to Kivimรคki, it is not possible to divide the audience into smaller blocks.
"Each block must have its own entrances, its own toilets and its own shop stewards. There are too many of these clauses to make it technically possible," he said.
"From a business perspective, Aviโs decisions are really difficult," Kivimรคki added.
Almost all Helsinki Festival events have been canceled
With the exception of a few, Finland’s largest annual cultural event, the Helsinki Festival, will be canceled on 20 August "Covid-resistant" supply. Among other things, all the events in the Huvila festival tent and the Helsinki Music Hall will be scratched.
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The festival begins next Thursday, August 19 – the day before the restrictions take effect. Therefore, the opening concert of the festival will also become its closing concert. The Helsinki Philharmonic will perform composer Philip Glass Symphony of Heroes, based on music David Bowie and Brian Enoby brother Roger Eno is scheduled to perform later that evening.
"The decision was one we did not want. And we don’t think it’s even based on the Communicable Diseases Act," said Stuba Nikula, CEO of the Helsinki Events Foundation, which organizes the festival.
Nikula criticizes that the restrictions are based on strict audience numbers regardless of the size of the venue. In his view, the model should be based on the model used for restaurants and bars, where the number of customers is limited as a percentage based on the capacity of each facility.
Dividing the audience into smaller sections isnโt really an option, Nikula told Yle. He said this works mainly in football stadiums and similar places with lots of entrances and other facilities.
"This does not work at all in a theater or concert hall," he said. The festival was scheduled to run on September 5th.
Source: The Nordic Page