Friday. 29.03.2024

Finnish health authorities are already talking about the "continuous growth" of the epidemic in recent weeks.

According to the latest monitoring report prepared by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the number of new Covid-19 cases has increased by 56% over the last week.

The total number of new cases reported between 26 July and -1 August was 4,574 whereas, a week before, the number of new cases was 2,925, the Ministry said in a statement.

According to fresh data reported by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Finland's incidence of new cases is now 143.7 infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two-week period.

However, this rate increases greatly in the southern provinces, those with the highest population density. In the Helsinki-Uusimaa area, the incidence is 234.1 and in Southwest Finland (the Turku area) it is 191.

In Finland, around 66% of the population have received at least their first dose of vaccine, but only 36% have full vaccination coverage. In vaccination, Finland is lagging behind the European Union average, which has exceeded 50%.

Infections from abroad

Last week, the share of infections from abroad was around 6%. A total of 8,304 people were placed in quarantine.

Among those in need of hospital care, the number of young adults and non-vaccinated patients is currently notable. "Burden on specialised medical care has increased over the past week," Finnish authorities say.

Based on the information provided by the hospital districts, 95 people were receiving hospital care due to the Covid-19 disease on 4 August.Of them, 15 were in intensive care, more than double the number in the previous week.

Since the epidemic began, Finland has reported 109,230 coronavirus cases and 984 people have died after contracting the Covid-19 virus.

Covid-19 infections increase by almost 60% in the last week in Finland