Finland is due to enter a three-week shutdown after parliament on Monday approved a government proposal to temporarily close cafes, bars and restaurants in a bid to stem a rise in coronavirus cases.
"The restrictions aim to minimise people-to-people contacts in order to reduce the number of infections and keep the epidemic under control," Prime Minister Sanna Marin told parliament.
President Sauli Niinisto later signed the fast-tracked bill into law.
Effective from Tuesday, the shutdown would apply in areas where the epidemic is considered to be in either an acceleration or community transmission phase.
Fifteen of Finland's 19 regions were expected to be affected.
Restaurants may continue to provide take-away services during the period.
However, Annika Ronni-Sallinen, head of the trade union PAM that organizes many employees in the restaturant sector, cautioned that the moves could result in redundancies, public broadcaster YLE reported.
Furthermore, pupils in the upper grades and high school were to revert to remote learning, while out-of-school activities would be halted for children over the age of 12 for the next three weeks.
Social gatherings
People were also advised to avoid social gatherings, wear face masks and maintain social distancing.
A week ago, the government and the president declared a state of emergency, which enhances government's powers to tackle the pandemic.
At the weekend, the Justice Ministry announced that municipal elections originally scheduled for April have been postponed until June due to the pandemic.
Finland has seen about 1,295 cases linked to strains of the coronavirus that are more transmissible.
The country of 5.5 million has recorded more than 62,000 cases and more than 770 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic began.
