Jyväskylä gives an extensive mask recommendation to its residents over the age of 15 for two weeks - masks must always be worn in all indoor public places as well as at public events.

During this week, there have already been 37 positive test results in the Jyväskylä health services (the situation on 24 September). The incidence number in Jyväskylä during the past week is now 36.5 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

The recommendation issued on 24 September by the City of Jyväskylä exceptional circumstances management committee is in line with the recommendations published by the National Institute for Health and Welfare THL for acceleration phases of the coronavirus pandemic. In Jyväskylä, the recommendation also applies to outdoor events where it is not possible to observe safety distances.

- The face mask recommendation is the first extensive measure that Jyväskylä imposes on the inhabitants.  The range of other measures still available means still includes e.g. recommendations on restaurant opening hours, restrictions on gatherings, cancelling various activities and ordering the schools to switch to distance learning. However, we hope that these measures will not have to be introduced, but that the use of face masks will now be taken seriously and that every resident will follow the safety instructions as carefully as possible for the next two weeks, says Mayor Timo Koivisto.

The measures listed in the safety instructions include good hand hygiene, safety distances, staying home if not well and getting tested for the coronavirus even if the symptoms are mild.  The new recommendation on using face masks will complement the safety instructions.

Although the infection rates in Jyväskylä are now among the highest in the country, the healthcare professionals know the chains of infection well, and Ilkka Käsmä, the doctor responsible for infectious diseases, finds that the situation is under control. 

- Most of the infections detected this week were diagnosed among individuals who had already been ordered to quarantine.  This means that they have not exposed large groups of people to the infection, but they were already in quarantine at home when their symptoms appeared, Käsmä reassures.

The exceptional circumstances management committee thanks the student organisations and subject associations for understanding the situation

- Student organisations and subject associations have acted very responsibly throughout the autumn and have postponed events to later dates, although this has certainly made team formation more difficult, Mayor Koivisto summarises.

The use of face masks is recommended in the following settings for the next two weeks:

• In public spaces and events where close contacts cannot always be avoided. Recommendation applies to outdoor events and tournaments where the safety distance of 1–2 metres is not possible.
• In secondary schools (including general upper secondary schools) and higher education institutions.
• On public transport where close contacts cannot always be avoided.
• Persons travelling to a COVID-19 testing facility and awaiting the test results, if it is necessary for them to move outside the home.
• Passengers arriving in Finland from a high-risk area while moving from the point of entry to the place of quarantine or if it is necessary to move outside the home during the quarantine. 

Public spaces and events where mask use is recommended:

• Shops and shopping malls
• Gaming and betting shops
• Post offices, banks, libraries and similar indoor spaces
• Facilities for physical activities, exercise and sports venues and audience areas (at least in the public areas and dressing rooms)
• Swimming pools, outdoor swimming pools, spas and saunas (public areas and dressing rooms)
• Churches and other religious community spaces
• Concert halls and other live music venues
• Theatres and other performance venues
• Cinemas and other venues for screening films and audiovisual works
• Museums and galleries
• Amusement and theme parks and other indoor attractions
• Festivals, fairs and markets if held indoors
• Conference and exhibition centres and facilities for organising meetings, trade fairs and other similar events

Staff are not required to wear face masks in early childhood or primary education premises during teaching or day care. If a person over the age of 15 brings children to day care or school and encounters other people over the age of 15 on the premises, they should wear a mask.  Masks must also be worn in activities organised on the day care centre or school premises in the evenings, or  at parents' meetings, for example.

Offices, for example, are not public spaces. The recommendations do not take a stand on the internal practices of work communities, where the use of face masks, for example in customer situations, is determined by an internal risk assessment at the workplace.  

The face mask recommendation is based on preventing the spread of droplets - the recommended masks are disposable masks and masks made out of fabric

The use of a face mask is intended to reduce infections and prevent the spread of droplets into the environment in situations where an asymptomatic person is unknowingly infected with the virus. The coronavirus is transmitted primarily as a droplet infection when a patient infected with the virus coughs, sneezes, sings, laughs, or talks.

The word mask refers to various types of masks protecting the wearer's nose and mouth as well as other  face masks. The Jyväskylä recommendation means that people living in Jyväskylä should use, for example, reusable cloth masks or disposable masks made of different materials.

Be careful when putting on and removing the face mask so that a mask contaminated with the virus does not pose a risk of infection.  When touching the mask, make sure that your hands are clean. 

The City of Jyväskylä distributes face masks to low-income residents

The City of Jyväskylä distributes face masks to low-income residents at the Hannikaisenkatu social service station and health stations, among other places.

• Hannikaisenkatu social station, Hannikaisenkatu 37, Monday-Friday at 10-14. 
• Integration services, Väinönkatu 1, Monday-Friday at 10–13.
• health centres: Huhtasuo, Keskusta, Korpilahti, Kuokkala, Kyllö, Palokka, Sampoharju, Säynätsalo and Tikkakoski on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12–16.
• Civic centre Matara/Gloria, Matarankatu 6 A, Monday-Thursday at 9–16 and on Fridays at 9–14.