310 new coronavirus deaths reported in 2 weeks in Finland

The coronavirus death toll in the country has reached 4,373 till Sunday as a total of 310 new deaths were reported in the last two weeks (2 May to 15 May), said the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in a press release on Thursday.

In the preceding two-week period, the figure was 474. The average age (median) of those who have died during the epidemic is 83 years.

COVID-19 also spread widely among the older population in early 2022. This led to a rise in the number of COVID-19-related deaths occurring within 30 days of testing positive.

However, this trend took a downward turn in late April–early May. Despite the considerable number of infections, the mortality rate among those who have received at least three vaccine doses has clearly remained at a lower level when compared to the rest of the population.

Between 2 and 15 May, about 600 new COVID-19 patients were admitted to specialised healthcare. Before the number of new COVID-19 patients started to decline in April, over 800 patients were admitted to care within a two-week period.

A total of 47 new COVID-19 patients were admitted to intensive care during the stipulated period, while in the preceding two-week period the number was 38.

On Wednesday 18 May 2022, over 40 per cent of COVID-19 patients in intensive care and about 50 per cent of COVID-19 inpatients in specialised healthcare were being treated mainly for some other reason than COVID-19.

The total number of COVID-19 patients in primary healthcare was 366. Although the number of patients started to decrease clearly in April, the total number is still high.

On Wednesday, about 40 per cent of all COVID-19 patients in primary healthcare were being treated mainly for some other reason than COVID-19.

The estimated effective basic reproduction number is 0.70–0.85 with a 90 per cent probability. The number has remained below 1 since the beginning of April.

A value of below 1 indicates a downward trend in the epidemic. However, it is possible that the epidemic progresses at different speeds in different age groups.

Based on the wastewater samples collected this (15–16 May 2022) and last week (8–9 May 2022), the overall levels of coronavirus RNA in Finland’s wastewater have remained high.

However, based on the last five times when the levels were measured, the levels show a downward trend at national level.

In Finland, over 87 per cent of people who are 18 years of age or over have received at least two vaccine doses and over 64 per cent three vaccine doses. Over 86 per cent of those aged 60 or over have received three vaccine doses, and 58 per cent of those aged 80 or over have received their fourth vaccine dose.

The vaccination coverage of people aged 80 or over who have received their fourth dose has risen from 40 per cent to 58 per cent in a month.