232 new coronavirus deaths reported in 2 weeks in Finland

The coronavirus death toll in the country has reached 2,126 till Wednesday as a total of 232 new deaths were reported in the last two weeks (27 January–9 February), said the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in a press release on Thursday.

The authorities, however, did not mention the number of total infections in the last week.

The need for hospital care due to COVID-19 has stayed at a high but stable level for two weeks now. The burden on intensive care has reduced considerably since mid-January.

On 9 February, there were 347 inpatients in specialised healthcare, which is almost the same as a week ago. The total number of patients in intensive care was 30, compared to 38 in the week before.

Between 31 January and 6 February, a total of 29 new COVID-19 patients were admitted to intensive care, while between 10 and 16 January, the number of new patients was 60.

An estimated 25 per cent of all COVID-19 patients on ordinary wards in specialised healthcare were admitted for some other reason than COVID-19. The percentage was 20 for intensive care.

Of those who have died, 75 per cent had at least one underlying health condition that made them susceptible to a severe form of the COVID-19 disease. In the past two weeks (27 January–9 February), a total of 232 deaths were reported. People over 70 years of age accounted for 83 per cent of the deaths.

By 9 February, 88.6 per cent of people in Finland who are 18 years of age or over had received at least one vaccine dose, 86 per cent at least two vaccine doses and 58.4 per cent three vaccine doses.

Until Wednesday a total of 53 cases of the Omicron sub-variant BA.2 had been confirmed in Finland. The proportion of cases of BA.2 has increased rapidly particularly in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa.