Since the amended law entered into force, the police have observed the operations of food and beverage service establishments actively. Between Saturday 4 April and Monday 13 April, the police inspected nearly 4,000 establishments. According to their observations, most food and beverage service establishments have been closed, and those that were open continued their operations as take-away establishments. Food and beverage service establishments have mainly operated correctly.
So far, the police have observed a few individual cases where an establishment tried to go around the operating ban in the Act on Accommodation and Catering. The operators had expanded on the legal definition of a personnel restaurant or operated as a take-away place that also serves other customers. The National Police Board is aware of less than five separate cases around Finland.
“In practice, these restaurants have been open so that even people who are not customers of the personnel restaurant have eaten there, such as agreement diners from other organisations, or the restaurant has been open to all customers, which means that the number of customers is basically entirely uncontrolled. In addition, we have detected cases where a restaurant has operated as a personnel restaurant and, in addition, sold food and beverages to other customers in the form of take away. A restaurant cannot be both a personnel restaurant and sell take-away food to other customers,” says Chief Superintendent Konsta Arvelin from the National Police Board.
Food and beverage establishments have been closed to mitigate the spreading of the dangerous infectious disease. Expanding the operations of a personnel restaurant or continuing the operations as a so-called agreement restaurant where the number of customers is not controlled means that the restaurant operations are basically continuing as before even though this specifically has been temporarily banned.
The National Police Board has instructed police units to monitor the situation, and instructions for the monitoring have been specified as needed.
The police have also received tips on so-called speakeasies. In addition, they have received information about private events organised in closed licensed restaurants. Chief Superintendent Arvelin reminds that the nature of the event does not make it legal.
“Restaurant operations are currently banned,” Arvelin summarises.
As referred to in the amended Act on Accommodation and Catering as well as the specifying Government Decree, food and beverage establishments have been obligated to close their doors until 31 May 2020 to prevent the spreading of the coronavirus. The sale of take-away food and beverages is the only allowed activity. However, the restriction does not apply to personnel restaurants. A personnel restaurant refers to restaurant operations where food or beverages are served to the personnel of an organisation, foundation or institute or to a group of people which is
