Covid-19 infections and incidence in Finland continue to decline

The number of coronavirus infections and the incidence of new Covid-19 cases on the Finnish population as a whole continued to decline in May.

However, the government and health authorities are concerned that the loss of intensity of the epidemic is developing at a slower rate than in April. Finland remains among the countries least affected by the global pandemic.

The number of new Covid-19 cases took a sharp downward turn in late March, which leveled out in late April. In its latest monitoring report on the epidemic, the government emphasizes that since then "the number of new cases has remained stable."

The figures show, however, a continuous decline, although less marked than a month ago.

The latest report published by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health says about 1,300 new cases of Covid-19 were reported to the communicable diseases register between 17 and 23 May, which is a decrease of more than 100 cases from the previous week.

The incidence of new cases over the last two weeks was 49 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 52 in the preceding two-week period. The percentage of samples that tested positive also showed a slight decrease.

Another issue that worried a lot weeks ago was the growing number of infections among the youngest, a trend that seems to have stopped.Fewer infections were reported among those aged 20 to 29 years than in the previous week. The number of cases was lower even for people under 20 years of age.

Regional differences

According to the report, the epidemic is developing differently across the country and there are marked regional differences.

Southern and southwestern Finland have the highest numbers of new cases. However, the situation has improved considerably in the Hospital District of Southwest Finland compared to the previous week. 

Between 17 and 23 May, the incidence of Covid-19 was highest in Central Ostrobothnia, although even there the situation has improved from the previous week. In Kanta-Häme, the epidemiological situation has worsened.

In eastern and northern Finland, the weekly number of new cases is below ten in many areas. However, authorities are concerned about the deteriorated situation in the northern parts of Norway and Sweden, which could affect Finland.

Vaccination

More than 90% of Finnish residents aged 70 or older and more than 50% of people aged over 16 have received their first vaccine dose.

It is estimated that all those aged 16 or over who wish to be vaccinated will have received their first dose by the end of July.

The vaccination progress and the positive development of the epidemic in early spring are reflected in the number of inpatients.

The need for intensive care peaked after mid-March. At the end of March and during April, the number of intensive care patients decreased clearly. This downward trend continued between 17 and 23 May.

According to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), on Thursday 27 May Finland had 99 patients hospitalized, of which 19 were in intensive care guards.

So far, the 5.5 million country has reported 92,062 coronavirus infections and 946 deaths associated with the Covid-19 disease.