First coronavirus death reported in Swedish bordering Kemi

The first coronavirus related death has been reported at the Kemi healthcare district in southwestern Lapland, which is located near Swedish bordering area, reported National Broadcaster Yle on Sunday.

The number of coronavirus infection cases is increasing significantly in the Länsi-Pohja district to 80.

The number became double with in a span of one week. The Länsi-Pohja district includes the cities of Kemi and Tornio, bordering area on Sweden, where the infection rate is many times higher than in Finland, said the Yle report.

A total of 94 people died from coronavirus in Finland till Sunday, while the number in Sweden, with a population just over twice as large, had 1,540.

Juha Korpelainen, chief administrative physician of the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District announced the death saying that the deceased was a resident of a nursing home.

The chief physician of the Länsi-Pohja district, Jyri J. Taskila, did not confirm the location of the death to Yle due to privacy concerns.

With only around 60,000 residents, the region has one of the nation’s highest infection rates, potentially higher than in the populous Helsinki and Uusimaa district of southern Finland, said the Yle report, adding that the district’s main hospital in Kemi also serves the municipalities of Keminmaa, Simo, Tervola, Tornio and Ylitornio.