Residents of the Uusimaa region, which includes Helsinki, should not travel to other parts of Finland unless absolutely necessary, Taneli Puumalainen, head of the vaccination programme unit at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) said on Thursday.
Puumalainen's plea came as THL recommended that bars and restaurants in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen close until 14 March.
THL also recommended that residents of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS) avoid traveling outside the region until 14 March, a period that covers next week's ski holiday in Uusimaa.
"THL's recommendation is that in this situation, any ski holidays should be spent in your home region," Puumalainen said.
Situation worsening in Uusimaa
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Puumalainen described a "stark difference" in infection rates in the capital region and other parts of the country. "Efforts must be made to curb this level of incidence," he said.
Finland saw 614 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, the third-highest daily rise since the pandemic began just over a year ago. Of the new cases, 410 were identified in the Helsinki and Uusimaa healthcare district.
According to THL, the rate of infection in the HUS area has almost doubled in four weeks to 185.9 cases per 100,000 people. Over the same period, the infection rate in nearly every other hospital districts declined, THL said.
"The risk of the pandemic accelerating throughout Finland has increased due to the faster spread of the British variant of the virus. It has been found in growing quantities in Uusimaa," said Mika Salminen, director of health security at THL.
Infections linked to social activities
On Thursday Puumalainen reiterated THL's view that the limit on people gathering for events in Uusimaa should be lowered from 10 to six, echoing similar pleas made on Wednesday by Eeva Ruotsalainen, deputy chief physician at the region's HUS hospital district.
Puumalainen said that while a majority of infections occur at home, a growing number are linked to leisure and social activities.
"Unfortunately, we are seeing that people's hobbies are a significant source of infections," Puumalainen said. "Since Christmas, there has also been increased activity in restaurants, leading to several infection clusters being reported in different parts of Finland," he continued.
According to Puumalainen, infections linked to bars and restaurants have been particularly prevalent in the Helsinki capital region, although similar clusters have also been traced to resorts in Lapland.