Coronavirus The restaurant attached a patch to the door and at the same time closed the public route in the middle of Helsinki – “This is how it should work”

Popular the passageway in the heart of Helsinki, in the WTC and Aikatalo block, was still closed to pedestrians on Wednesday due to the corona passport control of the restaurant Deliber.

Due to the blockage, it was not possible to access Mikonkatu from Keskuskatu through the warm interior as usual. The glass door in the hallway was locked, and a patch was taped to the door to indicate that passage was exceptionally blocked.

In addition to Deliber, there are many other companies operating in the properties connected by the corridor, such as Esport, Friends & Burgers, Jungle Juice Bar, Santa Fé and Hourly Image.

Keskuskatu is one of the busiest pedestrian areas in the center of Helsinki.

Why has one operator been authorized to close a corridor along which other companies’ business premises are located?

“The entrepreneur is an awkward middleman,” says the hiring manager Ville Laurila Ilmarinen, a pension insurance company that owns the property.

“According to the formula, the corridor must be considered as a transport space and, on the other hand, control must be carried out. Corona passports are virtually impossible to control and space without holding the doors closed. That is the way to go. ”

According to Laurila, the closed corridor belongs to the area rented by the restaurant.

“We can’t control the three doors from which people come in and out,” said the entrepreneur who runs Deliber. Matti Himberg.

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Restaurants have been able to require a corona pass from their customers throughout their opening hours since the end of December, although corona passports are no longer exempt from restrictions. The use of a corona passport is not mandatory.

According to Himberg, in Deliber, it has been decided to check corona passports for security reasons, as in several other restaurants.

On Thursday, a restaurateur said the corridor has been reopened to pedestrians. According to the restaurateur, the decision to open the doors was made because the flow of customers has been radically reduced and staff are now able to monitor the space more easily.

Himberg says he is tired of the constant changes in restaurant restrictions and the uncertainty they cause.

“We look forward to decisions every day. We do not know what decision will come again tomorrow. All we know is that it has to close at 6 pm today. ”