Coronavirus situation worsens alarmingly

The number of new coronavirus cases has increased in Finland in the past week, said the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in a press release on Thursday.

Several coronavirus clusters and transmission chains have been reported in many hospital districts.

The incidence of new cases during the last two weeks was 10.2 per 100,000 inhabitants. The percentage of positive COVID-19 cases of all samples taken has risen to 0.5 per cent.

The majority of the new cases have been reported in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa. Last week, a number of new cases and transmission chains were reported, for example, in the Hospital Districts of Päijät-Häme, Central Finland, South Savo, and Pirkanmaa.

It is important to closely monitor and assess the development of the situation. Various measures must be taken to prevent the possible second wave of the epidemic, said the ministry.

During the latest period (7–13 September), a total of 326 new cases were reported to the communicable diseases register. In the previous week (31 August – 6 September), the number of reported cases was 236. The incidence of new cases during the latest period was 5.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the previous week it was 4.3.

The total number of new cases in the last two-week period was 562, while in the preceding two-week period (17–30 August) it was 335.

The incidence of new cases during the 14-day period was 10.2 per 100,000 inhabitants and in the preceding two-week period (17–30 August) it was 6.0 per 100,000 inhabitants. This means that the incidence of cases has clearly increased in recent weeks.

Currently, the estimated basic reproduction number is 1.20–1.25, with a 90 per cent probability.

Over the past few weeks, more and more large domestic clusters of COVID-19 and mass exposures have been reported in Finland, and these have resulted in further infections. Most of the new cases are linked to clusters of COVID-19 which are already known and have occurred around the country.

About 47 per cent of the new cases are of domestic origin and about seven per cent of foreign origin.