Coronavirus spreading fast among older adults

The number of new coronavirus infections is still at a high level, and community transmission is common in different age groups across Finland, said a press release of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) on Thursday.

It is alarming that more and more infections are found in older age groups and that there is a clear increase in the number of patients in need of hospital care.

The positive news is that the more than month-long rapid increase in the number of new cases and incidence has slowed down slightly over the past three weeks.

Between 7 and 13 December, a total of 2,894 new cases were reported to the communicable diseases registrar, showing a decrease of 112 cases from the previous week.

The incidence of new cases was 52 per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the previous week it was 54.

The total number of new cases in the last two-week period (30 November–13 December) was 5,900, or 179 cases more than that in the preceding two-week period. The incidence of new cases was 106 per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the preceding two-week period it was 103.

The area of the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa accounted for more than half of the cases and had a weekly average of around 1,600 new cases of COVID-19 during the past three weeks.

While the majority of new cases are still found in younger age groups and in working-age adults, alarming changes can be seen in the age distribution of COVID-19 infections. The proportion of older age groups has grown since early November.

During the period of 7–13 December, people under 50 years of age accounted for around 72 per cent of all cases and people aged less than 30 years for around 40 per cent of the cases. The percentages are the same as in the previous week.

The trend is a little upward among people over 60 and 70 years of age: people over 60 account now for over 15 per cent of new cases and people over 70 for nearly nine per cent. People over 70 years of age are a high-risk group because of their age. It is important to protect those at risk to prevent serious cases of the COVID-19 disease.

On 17 December 2020, a total of 264 coronavirus patients, including 27 in intensive care units (ICUs), were undergoing treatment at different hospitals.