Finland reaches the equator of the week with good and bad news regarding its fight against the coronavirus (koronavirus, in Finnish) epidemic.
On the one hand, the most hopeful data provided by the National Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) is that the number of deaths has not changed in the last 24 hours. It remains at 17 deceased people.
The country reached this number last Tuesday, which was the most mournful day for the Finns since the disease caused by the Covid-19 hit the country.
The bad news is that the number of infections has increased to 1,446 (this is 62 cases more than in the previous day), and also that things are getting complicated for the health system, as the number of patients hospitalized and in intensive care is on the rise.
According to THL, currently there are 159 people hospitalized due to coronavirus infection, of whom 62 are in intensive care. This is 22 more people in hospitals than the previous day and 6 more in intensive care units.
Of the 17 deaths that have occurred to date, 12 have been recorded in the HYKS special hospital area, which includes the capital city. The Finnish government has declared a state of emergency and isolated the province of Uusimaa (Helsinki and the surrounding municipalities) from the rest of the country to prevent the spread of the virus.
Source: THL.
Government to increase testing capacity
THL says around 24,200 people have been tested since the epidemic began, approximately 1,600 in the last 24 hours. The health authority also admits that the actual number of infections is likely to be higher than reported, as not all patients showing symptoms are tested.
On Monday, Finnish Government expressed its intention to increase Finland's sampling and testing capacity to curb the epidemic. And THL said on Wednesday that "testing capacity in Finland is constantly being increased" in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).
However, so far people in risk groups, patients with severe respiratory symptoms and health care workers have been prioritized.
According to THL, currently laboratories are able to examine about 2,500 samples per day.
