City of Helsinki’s customer premises for culture and leisure will remain mostly closed for the entire duration of March. Leisure activities for children and young people born in 2007 or later will be suspended at City of Helsinki’s indoor and outdoor facilities as of 1 March. As regards artificial ice rinks, restrictions on the maximum number of people allowed at any given time will be reimposed. Youth services will continue organising activities for individuals and small groups who need special support. Libraries remain open with limited services.
In other words, between 1–31 March, leisure activities at City of Helsinki’s indoor and outdoor facilities may only be organised for children and young people born in 2008 or later. The restriction applies to leisure activities at indoor sports facilities, swimming halls, outdoor sports facilities, cultural centres and school gyms, for example. All forms of leisure activities for children and young people must be arranged without close contact.
The decisions on the new restrictions are based on the implementation of the Communicable Diseases Act, which is necessary in the critical phase of the epidemic. The Communicable Diseases Act provides municipalities and regional state administrative agencies more authority in the challenging coronavirus situation. Read more about the Regional State Administrative Agency (Link leads to external service)for Southern Finland’s decisions regarding public and private operators.
Restrictions on the maximum number of skaters allowed at artificial ice rinks
Municipal residents can access outdoor ice rinks outside reservations made for children born in 2008 or later. Due to the coronavirus situation, maximum rink and field-specific skater numbers have been specified to remain in effect until 31 March 2021. Personnel will monitor the skater numbers on the artificial ice rinks and fields, and it might be necessary to wait for being allowed onto the ice during the busiest hours.
Further information on artificial ice rinks and the valid rink and field-specific user number restrictions:
Brahe sports field artificial ice rink(Link leads to external service) – max. 250 persons
Kontula sports park artificial ice rink(Link leads to external service) – max. 150 persons
Käpylä sports park artificial ice rink (Link leads to external service)– max. 150 persons
Käpylä sports park artificial ice hockey rink (Link leads to external service)– max. 30 persons
Laajasalo sports park artificial ice rink(Link leads to external service) – max. 30 persons
Lassila sports park artificial ice rink(Link leads to external service) – max. 30 persons
Lauttasaari sports park artificial ice rink(Link leads to external service) – max. 50 persons
Oulunkylä artificial ice rink (Link leads to external service)– max. 450 persons
Pukinmäki sports park artificial ice rink(Link leads to external service) – max. 30 persons
Jätkäsaari sports park artificial ice rink (Link leads to external service)– max. 200 persons
Changing rooms and maintenance buildings will remain closed.
Libraries remain open to a limited extent
Libraries will remain open with limited services, at least until 31 March. City of Helsinki libraries do not currently provide personal or equipment-related guidance. If you need advice, please visit the library’s service desk. City of Helsinki provides remote digital support.(Link leads to external service)
The following library services are available during the service restrictions:
• Books and other materials can be borrowed and returned using self-service machines
• Reserved materials can be picked up from the reservation shelf
• Materials can be borrowed from limited collection and theme shelves at the machines
• Indispensable transactions can be performed quickly on the customer computers
Library users must wear a face mask, unless this is impossible for health-related reasons. A safe distance of at least two metres must be maintained from staff and other customers. During the service restrictions, materials can be returned to library return boxes even outside opening hours.
Cultural centres and museums will remain closed
Cultural centres Annantalo, Caisa, Kanneltalo, Malmitalo, Maunula-talo, Stoa and Vuotalo as well as Savoy Theatre will remain closed. The following museums managed by City of Helsinki will also remain closed: Helsinki Art Museum HAM, Helsinki City Museum, Villa Hakasalmi, Burgher’s House, Worker Housing Museum and Tram Museum.
Photo: City of Helsinki / Nina Kaverinen