The Coronavirus (koronavirus, in Finnish) has killed 7 more people in the last 24 hours bringing the total number of fatalities to 34, according to the latest figures published by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL, in its Finnish acronym).
This is the highest death toll recorded in a day since the epidemic began.
And that may not be all, because THL recognizes that "there are delays in reporting deaths."
According to THL data, of the 7 new deaths recorded, 2 have occurred in the HYKS hospital area (Helsinki and surrounding municipalities). To date, with a total of 22 dead and 149 hospitalized, this is the area most affected by the epidemic in Finland.
But the largest increase in fatalities occurred in the KYS hospital area (Kuopio and surroundings), where 4 more deaths have been recorded. In just 24 hours, this area went from registering 5 deaths on Monday to 9 on Tuesday.
Another death happened in the TYKS (Turku University Hospital area). This is the first fatality registered in the Turku region.
83 in intensive care
According to THL, on Tuesday the total number of people hospitalized for coronavirus in Finland stands at 231 (this is 3 more than the day before). Of these, 83 are in intensive care (2 more than the previous day).
The age has been reported for 27 of the dead patients. There are 2 dead between the ages of 40 and 59; there are 6 between the ages of 60 and 79 and there are 19 over the age of 80. The median age of the deceased is 84 years.
According to THL, samples have been taken from 34,900 in Finland (approximately 2,100 more than the previous day). To date, 2,308 have tested positive, 1,438 in the Helsinki-Uusimaa region.
Samples are mainly taken from people with severe respiratory symptoms and risk groups such as health workers. For this reason, health authorities admit that the actual number of infections is likely to be much higher.
THL says health authorities are working to increase testing capacity "to more than 4,000 samples per day."
