Congestion is expected at Finland's land border with Sweden as the country prepares to impose stricter entry restrictions.
From 00.01 on 6 February travellers will be required to show proof of a negative coronavirus test no more than 48 hours old.
The border crossing point between Tornio and Haparanda became congested on Thursday night as Finns rushed to visit Sweden before the mandatory testing regime came into force.
"I would estimate there was 30 percent more traffic than in the previous days. The queue stretched from the border perhaps almost to the Haparanda roundabout," said Senior Lieutenant Jari Rantala from the Western Finland Coast Guard.
The new restrictions will not apply to Swedish citizens or foreign citizens living in Sweden, as well as people in several other exempt categories.
Although the Swedish government made the decision in order to reduce the spread of coronavirus in Sweden, it is thought that the restrictions will also have a positive impact on the rates of infection on the Finnish side of the border.
The most recent data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control showed that the coronavirus infection rate in Sweden stood at around 429 cases per 100,000 people, while Finland's rate was 93 cases per 100,000.
Guidance from the Swedish government (link in Swedish) published on Wednesday details which travellers can be exempted from the need to show a coronavirus test result.
They include:
- People with an urgent family or humanitarian need to travel
- People transporting goods or working in transportation in the healthcare sector
- People receiving surgery or other urgent healthcare in Sweden
- People crossing the border for the purpose of reindeer herding.
The Western Finland Coast Guard, which monitors the Tornio border crossing, said traffic at the border crossing was moving smoothly early on Friday morning.
11:57: Updated to include quotation