Coronavirus advice for Espoo residents

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2020-03-16 9:00

On this website, the City of Espoo collects information about the coronavirus, its effects on the city’s operations and advice for Espoo residents. The website will be updated as the situation changes. Latest update: 6 April 2020 at 08:10

Take care of mild symptoms at home – health centres will help you if you have severe symptoms

The contact information of health services in Espoo:

  • Health centres’ coronavirus helpline and appointment booking, tel. 09 816 34600, Mon–Fri at 7:00–18:00
  • The appointment booking number of Espoo’s health centres. You can only visit a health centre if you have booked an appointment. Tel. 09 816 34500, Mon–Fri 7:00–18:00
  • Oma Lääkärisi Espoontori, tel. 09 855 4303, Mon–Fri 8:00–16:00
  • Oma Lääkärisi Matinkylä, tel. 09 855 4100, Mon–Fri 7:00–18:00
  • The deaf and hard of hearing can book appointments at Samaria Health Centre by text message, tel. 043 825 1811
  • The Medical Helpline will help you in the evening and at weekends when health centres are closed. Tel. 116 117.
  • Contact information of health centres in Espoo: espoo.fi/healthcentres

Please only call us if your matter is urgent, to avoid overburdening our phone lines. If you only have mild symptoms, you do not need to contact a health centre. Video appointments with an on-call nurse are available. Go to the appointment booking system: espoo.terveytesi.fi

Concern hotline: Mental health services are there to help you if the coronavirus is making you feel worried or anxious.

  • Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, tel. 09 816 31300, Mon–Fri 8:00–16:00
  • The crisis hotline of MIELI Mental Health Finland is there to help outside these hours, tel. 09 2525 0111

Support for everyday life

  • Nestori – Guidance and Service Counselling for Senior Citizens offers advice and solutions to everyday situations, such as getting groceries if an elderly person’s own support network is unable to help. Tel. 09 816 33 333, Mon–Fri 8:00–16:00. Please help us make sure that elderly people in Espoo are aware of Nestori’s services. You could for example leave the phone number on your building’s noticeboard.
  • Answers to frequently asked questions about the effects of the coronavirus on the elderly (in Finnish and Swedish)
  • The best way to contact Welfare Services for Families with Children is to use the Get help form at www.espoo.fi/gethelp or call tel. 09 816 23600, Mon–Fri 8:30–15:00. 
  • Social services for working-age people, helpline, tel. 09 816 45000, Mon–Fri 8:00–10:00, and from 6.4. at 8:00–12:00.
  • Disability Services Helpline, tel. 09 816 45285, Mon–Fri 9:00-15:00

Changes to social and health services

We are providing the services that are absolutely necessary – this is why we must reduce non-urgent services. We will contact every client whose appointment needs to be rescheduled. To protect the elderly and other risk groups we are limiting visits to nursing homes, for example. More information: Social and health services during the coronavirus pandemic

Day care centres remain open and pre-primary education continues

Day care centres will remain open and pre-primary education will continue. This will ensure that guardians working in sectors critical to the functioning of society can go to work.

If you can arrange childcare at home, please do so. Remember to inform the day care centre director.

Open early childhood education (open day care centres, clubs and residents’ parks) is suspended.

People returning from abroad may not come to schools or day care centres for 14 days even if they have no symptoms.

Most pupils will study from home

Contact teaching in grades 4–10 will mostly be suspended, and pupils will study from home. The schools will give instructions on the teaching arrangements to the pupils and their guardians.

All pupils in grades 1–3 of basic education may come to school to attend contact teaching. However, it is recommended that pupils should study from home, if possible. Guardians should inform the schools if their children need contact teaching. Morning and afternoon care will be available for children who attend contact teaching at school and who would be in morning and afternoon care also in normal circumstances.

In some Finnisf-speaking schools there will be some changes to contact teaching locations.

All students at Espoo’s general upper secondary schools, with the exception of those who will take matriculation exams, will study from home.The teachers will give instructions to the students attending their courses.

The City will start offering snack bags to comprehensive school pupils and upper secondary school students who are currently studying from home and need lunch.

Pupils placed under home quarantine

The city’s Infectious Disease Unit will contact all guardians whose children are ordered into quarantine. In a quarantine situation, pre-primary education and early childhood education will not be provided for the children who are in quarantine.

Sports, exercise and culture

Swimming pools and all indoor sport facilities operated by the City of Espoo have been closed. All exercise courses and groups are also on hold. All free Töpinät, Wau, Muuvi and Jumppi clubs for children and the free hobbies for secondary school pupils on Wednesday afternoons have also been cancelled until further notice.

All locations of Espoo City Library and museums are closed. More information about libraries: www.helmet.fi

Esbo Arbis and Espoo Adult Education Centre have cancelled all courses that are held as contact learning, until further notice. The cancelled sessions will be held at a later date if possible.

Sello Hall, Espoo Cultural Centre, the Exhibition Centre WeeGee, Karatalo, Children’s Cultural Centre Aurora and Kannusali will stay closed until 13 May 2020. All events until 31 May 2020 have been cancelled or postponed.

Nature House Villa Elfvik is closed. All nature tours organised by the Environment Department have been cancelled until 31 May 2020.

All Youth Centres and The Ohjaamotalo are closed but youth workers are arranging activities and reaching young people in digital environments. For example a digital youth centre was opened in Discord. 

Contact us preferably by phone or chat

The Leppävaara and Espoonlahti Service Points are closed for now - Matinkylä Service Point closes as of 1 April, 2020. All other City of Espoo Service Points will continue to serve customers as usual despite the coronavirus. However, we recommend that all customers postpone their non-urgent errands or contact the Service Points by phone or chat. The general customer service number and the chat window are available at www.espoo.fi/asiointi.

How to run errands from home?

Live events turn into virtual ones

The events and meetings organised by the City of Espoo are cancelled or, if possible, held virtually instead. Official meetings will be held online.

All public events of the City Planning Department have been cancelled until further notice. We will later announce new event dates to replace the cancelled ones.

Good hand hygiene prevents respiratory infections from spreading

The best way to prevent respiratory infections is to take good care of hand and coughing hygiene. Further information about hand hygiene

Up-to-date general information about the coronavirus:

  • Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare: www.thl.fi/koronavirus
  • The national coronavirus hotline provides generic information about the coronavirus, tel. 0295 535 535, Mon–Fri 8:00–21:00 and Sat 9:00–15:00. Text message service for the deaf and hard of hearing, tel. 050 902 0163. General information on the coronavirus is also available from the Government’s chat service. The telephone and chat services do not give any health advice or guidance in the case of symptoms. In these cases, you should call your health centre or the Medical Helpline.