Coronavirus infections on rise again as football fans return from Russia

A total of 947 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Finland between 21 and 27 June, which is much more than in the preceding weeks, said the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in a joint press release on Thursday.

In fact, this is over 400 cases more than the week before. The recent spike in Covid-19 cases is largely due to football fans returning from Russia after attending UEFA European Championship matches.

At least 4,500 Finnish fans travelled to St Petersburg, Russia, to watch Euro 2020 matches. By 30 June, a total of 386 football fans returning from Russia had tested positive for COVID-19, causing 50 further infections.

Most of the cases were reported in the Cities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa (a total of 264 cases and 17 further infections) and in the Hospital Districts of Pirkanmaa (38 cases and 8 further infections) and Southwest Finland (31 cases and 5 further infections).

The percentage of cases where the virus was contracted abroad has therefore grown. Between 21 and 27 June, half (50 per cent) of all new cases were of foreign origin, while in the previous week the cases of foreign origin accounted for 33 per cent of all cases. Over 40 per cent of the cases recorded between 21 and 27 June are directly linked to the Euro 2020 matches in Russia.

The spike in the number of COVID-19 cases between 21 and 27 June is reflected as an increase in the estimated effective basic reproduction number. Currently, the number is 0.70–0.90, with a 90 per cent probability.

The incidence of new cases over the last two weeks (14–27 June) was 27 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 23 in the preceding two-week period (31 May–13 June).

The incidence of cases has increased particularly among people aged 20–29. Over one third (35 per cent) of the cases reported between 21 and 27 June were detected among 20–29-year-olds.

The COVID-19 situation remains stable in many areas. Some areas have, however, reported local COVID-19 clusters. In some of the areas, particularly in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, the number of cases has grown considerably as a result of infections detected among Euro 2020 football fans.

Based on the information provided by the hospital districts, a total of 38 people were receiving hospital care due to the COVID-19 disease on 30 June 2021. Of them, 3 were inpatients in primary healthcare, 28 inpatients in specialised healthcare and 7 inpatients in intensive care. So far, the need for hospital care has not changed essentially.

On 30 June 2021, the total number of COVID-19-related deaths reported to the communicable diseases register was 973.

The number of conducted COVID-19 tests has been decreasing since the beginning of June. Between 21 and 27 June, about 68,000 tests were taken, which is around 24,000 tests fewer than the week before.

The percentage of positive COVID-19 cases of all samples taken has clearly grown. Between 21 and 27 June, the figure was 1.4 per cent.