The Covid-19 situation "remains difficult" in some of the most populated areas of the country, the hospital districts of Helsinki-Uusimaa and Southwest Finland (the Turku region). The need for specialized healthcare, and particularly the need for intensive care "increased considerably" in these regions over the past few weeks.
At this stage of the pandemic, the increase in cases among young people is of particular concern.
These are the general conclusions of the latest weekly monitoring report of the epidemic in Finland, published on Thursday by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
During the last week of assessment (8-14 March), nearly 4,800 new coronavirus cases were recorded across Finland, showing an increase of over 300 cases from the week before. This is the highest weekly number of new cases reported in Finland since the start of the epidemic.
The total number of new cases in the last two-week period (1–14 March) was nearly 9,200, which was almost 1,700 cases more than in the preceding two-week period. The incidence of new cases was 166 per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the preceding two-week period it was 136.
The government says that, "because the situation has worsened considerably" throughout the country, the latest measures adopted by central and regional authorities to contain the spread of the virus are "justified."
Young people
Most of the new cases are still reported among young adults. Between 8 and 14 March, people under 50 years of age accounted for about 81% of all cases and people under 30 years of age accounted for nearly 50%.
25% of new cases have been detected in people under 20 years of age, mainly of school age. "People under 10 years of age accounted for about 11% of the new cases, while people aged 10–19 accounted for around 14% of the new cases," the government said.
On Thursday, March 18, the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) reported 804 new Covid-19 infections and 1 death. So far, the 5-million country has recorded 69,497 infections and 805 deaths.
Currently, 275 people are in hospital care. Of them, 50 are admitted to intensive care wards.
Effects of vaccination
Finnish health authorities say they also see "signs that vaccinations are starting to curb the epidemic, and the vaccine rollout is progressing well in all catchment areas for highly specialised medical care."
By Wednesday 17 March, more than 75% of people over 80 years of age had received at least one vaccine dose, and over one third of those aged 75–79 had been vaccinated at least once.
The number of tests conducted between 8 and 14 March was more than double —over 147,000 tests— compared to the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021.
The percentage of positive Covid-19 cases of all samples was about 3.2% between 8 and 14 March.
