Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced on Wednesday a new bill aimed at establishing containment, in particular in the capital Helsinki in an attempt to stem an outbreak of Covid-19 infections.
According to the project made public by its services, the inhabitants of Helsinki but also of the city of Turku (southwest) would be prohibited from going to someone else's house or participating in group sports.
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The text, which could be presented to parliament as early as Thursday and would remain in force until mid-May, would only allow residents to leave their homes for basic tasks, to buy food, to go to work or to school, going to the bank or the post office, according to the public television channel Yle.
Wearing a mask would become compulsory on public transport and the police could control the movement of people and impose fines in the event of non-compliance with the new rules.
These measures are
"imperative"
to reduce the burden on hospitals, said Sanna Marin Wednesday on Yle.
"We have to anticipate, if we are too slow to act, the health services will suffer."
Until recently, this Nordic country of 5.5 million inhabitants had one of the lowest Covid-19 incidence rates in Europe, notably attributed to the low population density and the support of Finnish to official instructions to fight against the virus, recommendations rather than a law.
Finland has recorded 73,516 cases and 811 deaths from Covid since the start of the pandemic.
But infections have soared, with 172 new cases per 100,000 population in the past two weeks, a higher figure than in Spain, the UK and Ireland, according to WHO data.
These restrictions, widely endorsed by political parties represented in parliament, are expected to be adopted by MPs.