A move by the government to extend legislation that allows stricter control over the operations of bars and restaurants until the end of February 2021 has been criticised by the industry’s main lobby group.
The rules dictate how many customers are allowed inside an establishment, and when they must stop serving alcohol and food - with different regulations for different regions depending on the state of coronavirus in that part of the country.
For example in Uusimaa, Southwest Finland, Kanta-Häme, Pirkanmaa and Ostrobothnia where coronavirus is in an ‘accelerating’ phase, there can only be 50% occupancy in businesses that primarily serve alcohol - such as bars, pubs and nightclubs - which must also stop selling booze at 22:00 and close an hour later.
For other food and beverage businesses in those areas such as restaurants, cafes, pizzerias and fast food restaurants, there’s a 75% limit allowed for customers inside and they should also stop selling alcohol at 22:00 but they can stay open serving food until midnight.
In all other parts of Finland there are no restrictions on the number of customers, but businesses that primarily serve alcohol must close by 01:00 at the latest, while other food and beverage businesses can be open around the clock.
Reaction from industry lobby group
Although the government says the new decree “adds flexibility” for businesses, and in practice lets many establishments stay open an hour longer if they’re not selling alcohol, it’s not flexible enough for the Finnish Hospitality Association MaRa.
CEO Timo Lappi says he wanted an additional hour of opening times for people to have a drink in restaurants.
“These additional hours would have been very important for restaurants preparing for the Christmas season, but they would have been virtually irrelevant to the spread of the coronavirus” Lappi explains in a statement.
MaRa has been saying that a recent survey in parts of Finland where there’s an accelerated phase of coronavirus found just 2% of exposures had happened in restaurants. They cite epidemiologists who say that no coronavirus cases have been traced with absolute certainty in restaurants in Helsinki or Tampere.
“The Government and THL have still not substantiated why strict restrictive measures on restaurants are necessary and proportionate” says Timo Lappi.
“The fact that restaurant activity is restricted elsewhere in Europe is not enough to justify it.”
