Coronavirus spreading fast again

The latest COVID-19 figures for Finland show a clear upward trend in the number of new cases, said Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in a joint press release on Thursday.

This is following a long period of relative stability in the number of new cases. The numbers of cases have increased in several hospital districts. Some of the cases are related to known large-scale transmission chains.

The new virus variants may affect the development of the epidemic. Because of this, the situation is now monitored very closely. Since 14 December 2020, a total of 106 cases of the new variants have been confirmed in Finland.

Between 18 and 24 January, a total of 2,315 new cases were reported to the communicable diseases register, showing an increase of 568 cases from the previous week.

Similarly, the incidence of new cases was 42 per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the previous week it was 32. The number of people quarantined due to COVID-19 exposure is also rising again. Between 18 and 24 January, the number was more than 10,000.

The total number of new cases in the last two-week period was 4,062, i.e., 486 cases more than that in the preceding two-week period. The incidence of new cases was 73 per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the preceding two-week period it was 65.

During the period of 18 to 24 January, the majority of the new cases were of domestic origin. Cases where the virus was contracted abroad accounted for 6% of all new cases, and the further infections resulting from them accounted for 3% of all cases.

Slightly more than half of the new cases were reported in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa.

Currently, the estimated basic reproduction number is 0.75–0.95, with a 90 per cent probability.

On 28 January, the total number of deaths related to the disease was 664.