Finland: Number of COVID-19 infections increases almost by 60 per cent in a week

NordenBladet — The number of new COVID-19 cased has increased by 56 per cent 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.

Out of 117,600 coronavirus tests, the share of positive samples was 3.9 per cent. More than one third of all the reported cases were among people aged 20–29.

In the last two-week period, the incidence of new cases is now 135 per hundred thousand inhabitants. The estimated effective basic reproduction number is 1.35–1.40, with a 90 per cent probability, which reflects the continued growth of the epidemic. Last week, the share of infections from abroad was around 6 per cent. A total of 8,304 people were placed in quarantine.

Several regions report backlogs in contact tracing and delays in placing people in isolation and quarantine. The source of infection was traced successfully only in 52 per cent of the cases. The backlogs reflect the strong increase in the number of infections and a shortage of personnel available for tracing. It is not always possible to receive all necessary information from infected and exposed persons about other potentially exposed persons. Transmission chains are difficult to trace without the names of the people that were present. Based on legislation, parties involved must assist authorities in the tracing of transmission chains and follow instructions to break transmission chains without delay.

Increased burden on specialised medical care In Finland, around 66 per cent of the population have received at least their first vaccine dose and 36 per cent of the population have full vaccination coverage, i.e. they have received the second vaccine dose. Among those in need of hospital care in Finland, the number of young adults and non-vaccinated patients is currently notable. Burden on specialised medical care has increased over the past week.

Based on the information provided by the hospital districts, a total of 95 people were receiving hospital care due to the COVID-19 disease on 04 August 2021. Of them, 11 were inpatients in primary healthcare, 69 inpatients in specialised healthcare and 15 inpatients in intensive care. During the epidemic, a total of 984 deaths related to the disease have been reported by 04 August 2021. The epidemiological situation is monitored weekly. A report on the epidemic is published on Thursdays at 10.00.

The monitoring report on the epidemic published today and the previous reports are available on the website of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.