Epidemic peak has passed in Finland: THL Researcher

A researcher from the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) estimated that the peak of the coronavirus epidemic in Finland has passed, reported news agency Xinhua quoting national broadcaster Yle on Tuesday.

If the anti-epidemic measures continue to remain valid and human behavior does not change, the disease will fade, Simopekka Vänskä, a senior researcher at THL, told Yle, emphasizing that the estimate is based on the assumption that the anti-epidemic restrictions would remain the same.

According to Vänskä, the figure for infectivity (R0) has fallen lower than the forecast made by THL at the end of March. At that time, it was estimated that the figure would be close to 1.6, but now it is under 1.0.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic spread to Finland, the Finnish government have carried out a series of restrictive measures to curb the spread of the disease, including closing borders, shutting down schools and other educational institutes, limiting public gatherings to ten people, encouraging remote working, shutting down restaurants, cafes and bars. The measures have clearly slowed down the spread of the virus.

Vänskä added that the government must now choose which strategy to adopt next in the fight against the disease.