The coronavirus continues to spread in Finland, where it has already become a headache for the authorities of all hospital districts.
On Wednesday 2 December, the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) reported 970 new infections diagnosed in the past 48 hours (550 found on Tuesday, 420 on Wednesday), bringing to 25,882 the total number of cases diagnosed since the beginning of the pandemic.
In addition, THL reported 9 more deaths associated with the disease since Monday, 5 of them in the Helsinki region, 2 in the Kuopio hospital catchment area, 1 in Oulu and 1 in Tampere hospital districts. So far, 408 people have died from the Covid-19 disease in Finland.
On Wednesday, Finnish mobile operators began sending all customers a text message (SMS) informing about the deterioration of the situation and the need to follow the relevant recommendations in each region, depending on the epidemiological status of their places of residence.
The three stages of an epidemic are the baseline, acceleration and spreading (also called community transmission) phases.
Hospital patients decreased
The number of people hospitalized due to Covid-19 disease decreased by 10 in the past two days, to 175. However, the number of patients admitted to intensive care units increased by 3, to 21.
The country's incidence of new cases also increased during the last 48 hours. According to THL, on Wednesday it was 101.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past two weeks. However, the situation is very different depending on the region.
In the Helsinki-Uusimaa area, the most populated of the country, the incidence nearly doubles the national average: 195 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the preceding 14 days, according to THL's figures.
Finnish health authorities have been warning about the deterioration of the situation in recent weeks, particularly in the Helsinki region. Last Monday, the Helsinki-Uusimaa hospital authority (HUS) asked the government to make the use of face masks mandatory in public transport. For now, the authorities just "recommend" its use.
