Closing schools in Finland did not stop Covid-19 more than in Sweden

The incidence of the Covid-19 virus among children and young people is quite similar in Finland - where schools closed last spring - and in Sweden, where they remained open.  This has led the Finnish health authorities to claim that closing schools and day-care centres had a small impact on the number of diagnosed Covid-19 cases.

These are the findings of a report conducted at the request of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) comparing diagnosed coronavirus infections among people aged 1-19 and the resulting periods of intensive care treatment and deaths in Finland and Sweden.

In Finland schools and day-care centres were closed from mid-March through mid-May, while in Sweden, comprehensive schools and day-care centres were open all spring.

"In spite of this, there are no significant differences in the incidence of coronavirus infections among those aged 1-19," the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) said in a press release.

The incidence of coronavirus infections among those under the age of 20 was 52 cases per 100,000 people in Finland, and 49/100,000 in Sweden. However, the increase in testing in Sweden, which began in late May has increased the number of diagnosed infections among children and young people as well, the health agency says.

Serious symptoms

“Coronavirus infections with serious symptoms are rare among children and young people in both Finland and Sweden. Neither country has reported a single coronavirus-related death in the under-20 age group. According to current information, children also pass on the virus less frequently than adults”, says Hanna Nohynek, Chief Physician at THL.

The study is to be continued in the autumn and the focus will be on the role that children and young people have in the transmission of the Covid-19 disease.