Covid-19 kills again in Helsinki area

Finnish health authorities reported on Monday 31 August 1 death and 44 new coronavirus infections diagnosed throughout the weekend.

With them, the total number of infections detected in the country amounts to 8,086, according to figures from the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL, in its Finnish acronym).

The latest death occurred in the hospital catchment area of Helsinki, according to the latest figures released by THL.

To date, there have been 336 coronavirus-related deaths in the country.

It had been 7 days since there was no need to mourn deaths from Covid-19 in Finland. The last fatality had been reported on Monday 24 August, exactly one week ago.

So far, the Finnish regions that have registered the most deaths are Helsinki-Uusimaa (276), Kuopio (25), Turku (19) and Oulu (13).

Source: THL.

Intensive care

The total number of people hospitalized in Finland due to Covid-19 remains low compared to other countries.

According to THL, currently there are 10 people receiving hospital care, of which 1 is admitted to an intensive care unit.

In relation to Finland's total population (5,543,233) the total prevalence of cases (since the beginning of the pandemic) is 146 cases per 100,000 people. 

However, the incidence more than doubles in the Helsinki area, where it is 346.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Another highly affected region is Länsi-Pohja (Northwest Finland, next to the Swedish border), where the incidence already reaches 252.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

An estimated 7,200 people have recovered from the disease, which is over 90% of reported cases. Approximately 639,500 people have been tested since the beginning of the epidemic, THL says.