17 new coronavirus infections diagnosed in 24 hours

The total number of coronavirus infections in the country increased to 8,019 as 17 more infections have been diagnosed in the last 24 hours, said the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus deaths in Finland remains unchanged at 335, as no new death has been reported in the last three days.

The previous coronavirus death in the country was reported on 24 August.

So far, a total of 275 people have died in the Helsinki-Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS), 25 in the Pohjois-Savo Hospital District (KYS), 19 in the Turku Hospital District (TYKS), 13 in the Pohjois-Pohjanmaa Hospital District (OYS), and three in the Tampere-Pirkanmaa (TAYS) Hospital District.

Until Thursday, 7,200 or more than 90% coronavirus-infected patients in Finland had recovered.

A total of five coronavirus patients, including in one in intensive care unit (ICU) are now undergoing treatment at different hospitals.

According to the THL report, in relation to Finland’s total population (5,543,233), the prevalence of COVID-19 cases is 145 per 100,000 people.

Currently, laboratories in the country are testing about 14,000 samples a day.

Meanwhile, the number of new coronavirus infections remains relatively small at national level, said a press release of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on Thursday.

The number and incidence of cases, however, have risen compared to the low figures at the beginning of July, they have remained stable over the past three weeks.

The increase in the number and incidence of cases since early July is most evident in Helsinki and the Uusimaa region.

During the latest period (17–23 August), a total of 159 new cases were reported to the communicable diseases register. In the previous week (10–6 August), the number of reported cases was 164.

Some of the new confirmed cases are related to known chains of transmission and clusters of cases that are being monitored, but the source of all infections is not known. A number of domestic mass exposures have been identified, including larger family gatherings and public events.

Several incidents of exposure to COVID-19 in day-care centres and schools have been identified in recent weeks. The aim is to carefully track the transmission chains of all new cases in order to prevent new infections as effectively as possible, the press release added.