Military personnel are on duty on a highway in Hyvinkaa, Uusimaa, Finland, on March 28, 2020. Finland has locked down the southern province of Uusimaa, including the capital area, to contain the spread of COVID-19. The Finnish parliament on late Friday accepted the government's plan of the lockdown, which began at midnight (2200 GMT) and will last until April 19. (Photo by Matti Matikainen/Xinhua)
HELSINKI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Finland has locked down the southern province of Uusimaa, including the capital area, to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The Finnish parliament on late Friday accepted the government's plan of the lockdown, which began at midnight (2200 GMT) and will last until April 19.
According to the announced decree, commuting for work, studies and other essential travel in and out of the province will be allowed, while others like leisure travel will not be accepted. Military conscripts on weekend leave cannot cross the borderline, either.
The parliamentary decision was reached only an hour and 20 minutes before the measures took affect. The decision was made without a vote but had been delayed as the draft decree submitted by the government had legal details that had to be corrected.
As of Friday, there were 1,025 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Finland, according to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. More than 600 of them were in Uusimaa province.
After the parliamentary decision, Prime Minister Sanna Marin chaired a cabinet meeting to pass the application decree and confirmed the exceptions.
Police and military have erected 30 checkpoints on the roads and highways on the borders of the province. Train transit has been reduced and police will patrol the trains. Air travel between Helsinki and domestic airports is allowed as part of an international connection. There are no restrictions on travel inside the province.
The lockdown of a province is rare in Finnish history. Such a wide internal restriction was not applied even during World War II, local media said.
