Several hundreds of people on Sunday gathered in Helsinki city centre, protesting against the restrictive measures taken in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak,  Daily Finland reported.

The law-enforcers arrested 17 demonstrators at the spot, as they did not pay heed to a police order to disperse, said the Helsinki police.

The police said about 300 people gathered without giving any prior notice, thereby, violating the restriction on gathering of more than six people.

The protesters planned to bring out a procession to the Helsinki Railway Square via parliament building and violated the rules that limited gatherings in the region to six people.

The police ordered the people to disperse but all of them did not pay heed to the police order, which prompted the law-enforcers to arrest 17 people. Out of them, 14 protesters were fined for violating police orders while two others were fined for not obeying the rules.

The police estimated that about 200 to 300 people took part in the rally and procession.