HELSINKI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Shipping company Tallink Silja announced on Monday that it is going to suspend one-way trips from Stockholm, Swedish capital, to Turku, a city on the southwest coast of Finland, due to the anti-COVID-19 considerations.
Tallink Silja will sell its Baltic Princess cruise tickets only in the Finnish side from Aug. 7, said the cruise line in a press release published on Monday. This means that passengers will not be able to depart on one-way cruises from Stockholm to Turku.
The company noted that the decision is based on the ongoing travel restrictions between Finland and Sweden due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the instructions of the Finnish authorities, single tickets from Sweden to Finland may currently only be sold to Finnish passengers returning to Finland.
Furthermore, the shipping company has made the decision to continue selling tickets for only up to 75 percent of the vessels' total capacity to ensure plenty space on board for social distancing.
All vessels of Tallink Silja follow strict cleaning and disinfecting protocols and all passengers are required to sign a health declaration prior to travelling, proving they have no illness symptoms before travelling.
"At Tallink Silja we continue to cooperate closely with our national authorities and to follow their guidance for guaranteeing the safety of our passengers," said Marco Palmu, commercial director of Tallink Silja, in the press release.
According to the World Health Organization, Sweden has confirmed 80,422 COVID-19 infections, with 5,743 deaths.
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare reported that as of Monday afternoon, Finland had confirmed 7,466 infections with COVID-19, of which 34 were new confirmed cases within the past 24 hours. The death toll was 329, with no death reported in the past 24 hours. Enditem
