Southern Finland's regional state administrative agency (AVI) announced on Wednesday afternoon that passengers arriving in Finland from 'risk countries' will be subject to a compulsory health check at the border.
The checks apply to anyone arriving at Helsinki's sea ports, Helsinki Airport or the busy Finnish-Russian border-crossing at Vaalimaa.
As a part of the check, a coronavirus test may also be carried out.
The compulsory checks come into force on Thursday 18 March and will be in place until 31 March.
During the health examination, each person arriving in the country will be asked for a negative coronavirus test certificate, taken in the last three days.
A certificate proving a positive coronavirus test within the last six months is also accepted, if the certificate is deemed as being reliable. In this case, a person arriving into the country will avoid a coronavirus test immediately following their entry into Finland.
According to AVI, a person arriving from a country at risk refers to a person who has stayed in a country with a coronavirus incidence rate of more than 25 infections per 100,000 inhabitants during the two weeks preceding their arrival in Finland.
This rate of incidence is exceeded by a considerable amount in almost all European countries.
The new border checks will not apply to passengers on connecting flights at Helsinki Airport, nor to cargo drivers or logistics workers in their work duties.
Refusing the mandatory health examination is a health protection violation, which may result in a fine or imprisonment of up to three months.
Vaalimaa clarifying the new rules
At the Vaalimaa border-crossing point, the regional health authority's chief physician Marja-Liisa Mäntymaa said that the new rules will be discussed in a meeting with the border and health authorities on Thursday morning.
"We still need to specify guidelines for situations where a passenger does not provide proof of illness or a recent coronavirus test."