275 new coronavirus deaths reported in 2 weeks in Finland

The coronavirus death toll in the country has reached 2,846 till Sunday as a total of 275 new deaths were reported in the last two weeks (7 to 20 March), said the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in a joint press release on Thursday.

The average age (median) of those who have died during the epidemic is 83 years. Out of the deaths 252 (91.6%) were reported among people over the age of 70.

The COVID-19 epidemic in Finland shows no signs of abating, although there is some regional variation in the intensity of the epidemic.

The epidemic continues to put a strain on hospital care capacity. The need for intensive care has remained unchanged. Vaccinations continue to provide effective protection against the most serious forms of COVID-19.

The number of COVID-19 inpatients in primary healthcare continued to rise between 7 and 20 March.

On Wednesday 23 March 2022, there were a total of 542 COVID-19 inpatients in primary healthcare, compared to 466 two weeks earlier.

There is no clear trend in the number of inpatients in specialised healthcare, as the burden on specialised healthcare has remained high but stable at about 350–400 inpatients.

Between 7 and 20 March, a total of 76 new COVID-19 patients were admitted to intensive care. The number of intensive care patients decreased at the end of January, and since then, it has remained at around 30–40.

Currently, the estimated effective basic reproduction number is 0.90–1.05, with a 90 per cent probability. A value of around 1 reflects the uncertainty about which way the epidemic is going.

The number has increased slightly since it was reported previously. The number was then 0.80–0.95. The estimated effective basic reproduction number is based on the number of COVID-19 cases in specialised healthcare.

The overall level of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in Finland’s wastewater has remained high.

By 20 March 2022, 87.2 per cent of people in Finland who are 18 years of age or over had received at least two vaccine doses and 62.6 per cent three vaccine doses.

Nationally, there has been a clear slowdown in the number of people getting vaccinated when compared to situation at the beginning of this year.