COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Police in southern Finland began Friday to enforce the new regulation aimed at ceasing all unnecessary human traffic to and from Uusimaa, the region that includes the Nordic nation’s capital, Helsinki.

Police will block access and exit from the region, which has been hit worst in the country by the coronavirus.

Social affairs minister Krista Kiuru said earlier this week that the decision was taken as the “risk of substantial spreading of the infection from the Uusimaa region to rest of Finland is high” through unnecessary travelling.

Nationwide, Finland has so far confirmed 958 coronavirus cases — the vast majority of them in Uusimaa — and five deaths. The exceptional move that is set to end April 19, affects the daily lives of some 1.7 million people, nearly a third of Finland’s population.