On Sunday 17 May, the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) reported 61 more coronavirus (koronavirus, in Finnish) infections. With them, the total number of laboratory-diagnosed cases rose to 6,347.
Of the 61 new cases recorded, 51 have been detected in the Helsinki region.
The health agency also reported 1 more death associated with the disease, bringing the total number of fatalities in Finland to 298.
The region of Helsinki-Uusimaa remains the epicenter and worst-hit area. According to official figures, to date, 4,564 cases of Covid-19 have been found in the capital metropolitan area. Of them, 2,361 have been diagnosed in the city of Helsinki.
New death in Helsinki
To date, the Helsinki university hospital special catchment area (HYKS) reported 244 fatalities (82% of the country's total). This means four out of every five deaths caused by coronavirus have occurred in the Helsinki hospital area.
The only death reported on Sunday occurred in the capital region, according to figures by THL.
Source: THL.
Helsinki-Uusimaa is also the region showing the highest incidence of infections: there are 270.7 diagnosed cases per 100,000 inhabitants. This rate grows slightly everyday.
For the whole country, the average incidence rate is less than half that in Helsinki: 115 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, according to THL.
In intensive care
On Sunday, the official number of patients hospitalized due to coronavirus nationwide was 118, slightly lower compared to the day before. And the number of people in intensive care units was 29, which is 1 less than on Saturday.
According to a preliminary estimate by THL, there are at least 5,000 people who may have already recovered from the disease.
To date, Finnish laboratories have taken samples from approximately 146,800 people.
