Helsinki installing hand sanitiser dispensers at metro stations

The City of Helsinki is installing hand sanitiser dispensers at metro stations to ensure everyone’s safety, said the City of Helsinki in a press release.

About half of the planned dispensers have already been set up.

As of now, hand sanitisers for public transport users can be found at Matinkylä, Tapiola, Aalto University, Lauttasaari, Kamppi, Central Railway Station, University of Helsinki, Sörnäinen, and Itäkeskus metro stations.

Dispensers will be installed at other metro stations as soon as more dispensers are received from the supplier, the release said.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) issued a recommendation on 15 April that hand sanitiser should be made available whenever washing one’s hands is not possible.

Setting up sanitiser dispensers is recommended for busy transport nodes, such as stations and terminals and public transports.

However, in practice, it is not possible to install hand sanitiser dispensers directly on public transports, as it would require installing several thousand dispensing units.

For the foreseeable future, dispensers will not be installed at all the metro stations. In all situations, the best way to ensure good hand hygiene on the go is to bring one’s own hand sanitiser to be used as necessary.

The HSL also reminded its clients that tickets can be purchased using the HSL smartphone app to avoid touching a card reader or ticket machine.