Restaurant workers rally against new restrictions

A demonstration of restaurant workers took place in Helsinki today. They protested against the tightening of measures caused by the coronavirus.

Workers believe that the new restrictive measures will push many restaurants to the brink of closure.

As of today, food service establishments across the country should stop selling alcohol at midnight and close at 1 AM.

In addition, new regional restaurant restrictions will come into effect on Sunday 11 October in regions where the corona epidemic is either in the acceleration phase or is already spreading. These are five regions: Uusimaa, Varsinais-Suomi, Pirkanmaa, Kanta-Häme and Pohyanmaa. In them, catering establishments must stop selling alcohol at ten in the evening, and close their doors at 23.00. Only half of the seats can be filled.

According to information from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there were about 150 cases of mass infection across Finland last week. More than half of these incidents took place in educational settings, kindergartens or recreational facilities, while 10% occurred in restaurants, bars and nightclubs.