Authorities report at least 19 new cases of coronavirus
Of these, 11 cases have been diagnosed in the capital area and 3 in Pirkanmaa. New infections have been reported also in Lapeenranta, Seinäjoki, Turku, Forssa and Central Finland. Two children are among those affected.
Finnish health authorities reported at least 19 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday. Most have been detected in the capital area, but there are also cases in Pirkanmaa (the Tampere region) and in other areas. To date, there are at least 59 verified infections in Finland.
Of them eleven cases of coronavirus (koronavirus, in Finnish) have been diagnosed in the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district (HUS). According to the local authority, among those infected there are six women and four man -all of working age- and one child. All have been placed in isolation after sampling.
HUS says the tests were completed on Tuesday in the early hours of the last night, so the origin of the infections and the possibility of more people being exposed to the virus are being investigated on Wednesday.
So far, 32 cases of Covid-19 have been detected in the Helsinki-Uusimaa area.
Three new cases in Pirkanmaa
But the coronavirus does not distinguish between regional boundaries or state borders. 6 more cases have been found also in other Finnish areas.
Three of those have been diagnosed in the Pirkanmaa area, reported on Wednesday the Pirkanmaa hospital district (Tays).
According to the information released by Tays, the infected people are two men who contracted the virus during a trip to northern Italy. Local health authorities say nobody has been exposed in Pirkanmaa in connection to these cases. The National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL, in Finnish) will now investigate any possible exposure connected to air travel.
In addition to those two cases, one student from Pitkäjärvi upper school has contracted the infection. The case is related to an earlier case detected among the school staff.
The now sick student has been in quarantine since 8 March. He is in good condition and only has mild symptoms, like all the people from Pirkanmaa who have been infected so far.
So far, eight cases have been detected in Pirkanmaa region.
Other cases
-In Forssa, a second infection has been detected. According to the Kanta-Häme hospital district, the sick person is a man of working age who was diagnosed on Tuesday evening. He was exposed to infection at Wahren College on 5 March in connection with another earlier case.
However, the man had previously traveled to the epidemic area in Austria, from where he returned on 1 March. He is isolated at home and three of his close contacts have been placed in quarantine. Authorities say the sick man is feeling well and his symptoms are already alleviating.
-Another case of Covid-19 was reported by Turku University Central Hospital (Tyks) on Tuesday. The infected is also a man of working-age who arrived in Finland a few days ago from Tyrol, Austria. The patient's symptoms have been typical symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection. The patient is feeling well and is in isolation at home.
Four identified close contacts have already been quarantined and other persons potentially exposed to the infection are being investigated.
-One more case has been detected in the Central Finland hospital district.
-The Southern Ostrobothnia hospital district reported another infection on Wednesday from a patient who tested positive at Seinäjoki Central Hospital. The patient is a man of working age who recently returned from a trip to northern Italy. He has been isolated at home and so far his state of health is good.
-The South Karelia hospital district also reported one case found in Lappeenranta (the second diagnosed there). The infected person has mild symptoms and remains isolated at home. Authorities are currently investigating the infection chain. Three exposed persons have been placed in quarantine.