Finland reports 438 new coronavirus cases and 6 deaths

The year 2020 is about to end, without countries having rid themselves of the curse of Covid-19, which will go down in history as the worst pandemic in the last 100 years.

In Finland, which has started its vaccination campaign at the same time as the rest of the European Union member states, the coronavirus continues to infect and kill, although in recent weeks the incidence of new cases has decreased.

On Wednesday 30 December, Finland's health authorities reported 6 more deaths associated with the disease. These fatalities bring the total death toll in Finland to 556, according to the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

Most of the deaths (384) occurred in the Helsinki-Uusimaa region, the epicenter of the epidemic and the worst hit area.

THL also reported 438 new infections diagnosed in the past 24 hours, bringing Finland's total caseload to 35,858.

Source: THL.

Less people in hospitals

The number of people hospitalized due to the Covid-19 disease was 211 on Wednesday (10 less compared to the day before). The number of patients admitted to intensive care units is 30.

The country's incidence of new cases continues to decrease slightly. According to THL, at the time of writing this article it was 71.3 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the past two weeks for the whole country.

However, the situation varies depending on the region.

In the Helsinki-Uusimaa area, the most populated part of the country, the incidence for the preceding 14 days was 126.8 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The incidence of new cases slightly increased in Southwest Finland (Turku and surroundings) to 145.3

In contrast, in the Lapland hospital district the incidence is much lower, 18.8 cases per 100,000 residents.

Currently, the lowest incidence in Finland is in the Eastern Savonia hospital district (Itä Savo), whose main city is Savonlinna, where only 5 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants have been diagnosed in the past 2-week period.