Number of coronavirus infections rises clearly

The total number of coronavirus infections in the country increased to 7,683 as 41 more cases have been diagnosed in the last 24 hours, said the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus deaths in Finland remains unchanged at 333, as no new death has been reported in the last 24 hours.

The last coronavirus death in the country was reported on August 10.

So far, a total of 274 people have died in the Helsinki-Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS), 25 in the Pohjois-Savo Hospital District (KYS), 19 in the Turku Hospital District (TYKS), 12 in the Pohjois-Pohjanmaa Hospital District (OYS), and three in the Tampere-Pirkanmaa (TAYS) Hospital District.

Until Thursday, 7050 or more than 90% coronavirus-infected patients in Finland had recovered.

A total of seven coronavirus patients, including one in an intensive care unit (ICU) are now undergoing treatment at different hospitals.

According to the THL report, in relation to Finland’s total population (5,543,233), the prevalence of COVID-19 cases is 138 per 100,000 people.

Currently, laboratories in the country are testing about 14,000 samples a day.

Meanwhile, the number and incidence of new coronavirus infections has clearly increased compared to the low figures at the beginning of July, said a press release of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on Thursday.

Nevertheless, the number of cases remains relatively small at national level but the increased number of new cases is most evident in Helsinki and the Uusimaa region.

During the latest period (3–9 August 2020), a total of 139 new cases were reported to the communicable diseases register. In the previous week (27 July–2 August 2020) the number of reported cases was 81. In the weeks before, the numbers were smaller than this.

Currently, the estimated basic reproduction number is 1.20-1.60, with a 90 per cent probability.

The incidence of new cases during week was 2.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. The incidence of new cases in the two-week period ( 27 July–9 August) was 4.0 per 100,000 inhabitants and in the preceding two-week period (13–26 July) it was 1.8 per 100,000 inhabitants.

No new cases were reported in 7 hospital districts over the most recent seven-day follow-up period. The incidence of COVID-19 increased in the hospital districts of Helsinki and Uusimaa, Länsi-Pohja, Southwest Finland, Kainuu, North Ostrobothnia, Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa and North Savo.

More than five new cases were found in the hospital districts of Helsinki and Uusimaa, Länsi-Pohja and North Ostrobothnia. In the hospital district of Helsinki and Uusimaa, the number of cases almost doubled in week 32 compared to week 31.