At its meeting on 19 January 2022, the City of Helsinki’s Coronavirus Coordination Group decided that the personnel’s face mask policy would remain the same. Personnel are required to wear a face mask in customer service situations and when working in the same room with other persons or moving around the common premises of the workplace.
The city provides its personnel with surgical masks for face-to-face work. FFP2 face masks are only used in specific duties of the Social Services and Health Care Division, involving work with people at risk of severe coronavirus disease.
There are no plans to extend the use of FFP2 face masks. City employees can purchase FFP2 face masks themselves and use those instead of the surgical masks provided by the city. The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health recommends FFP2 face masks especially for non-vaccinated persons.
The key thing is to ensure vaccination protection, to use a surgical mask correctly in all situations and to avoid maskless encounters also during breaks.