Press release by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare:
Fewer people were tested for coronavirus during Christmas week – Number of reported cases fell

The number of coronavirus infections reported in Finland decreased during the Christmas week (21-27 December). The number of coronavirus tests administered also fell significantly from the previous weeks. It is therefore possible that cases will be reported with a delay in the near future.

The total number of new cases in the last reporting period (21–31 December) was 3,950, which was almost 2,000 fewer cases than in the preceding two-week period. The incidence of new cases was 71 per 100,000 inhabitants and in the preceding two-week period it was 93 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The number of reported cases has decreased since the beginning of December, and it is possible that this favourable development has continued due to the extensive recommendations and restrictions. However, the number of coronavirus tests carried out during the week of 21–27 December fell by approximately 25% compared with the previous two weeks. The percentage of positive cases has remained at the same level as in the previous week, which is a good sign. It is nevertheless possible that because of the holidays, people with symptoms have not attended testing at the same low threshold as usually. This may result in an increase in the number of cases in the next few days and weeks. The development of the epidemic and need for hospital care will be closely monitored during the New Year period.

Number of infections in older age groups stabilises

During the week of 21–27 December, people under 50 years of age accounted for around 73% of all cases and people under 30 years of age for around 40% of the cases. People over 60 years of age accounted for about 14% of the new cases, while people over 70 years of age accounted for slightly below 8% of the new cases. The increase in the percentage of cases in the older age groups levelled off compared to previous weeks.

On 30 December, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Finland stood at 35,858. There have been 556 deaths related to the disease. It is estimated that about 29,000 people, which is around 80% of all confirmed cases, have recovered from the disease.

On 30 December, a total of 211 patients were receiving hospital care due to the COVID-19 disease, and 30 of them were in intensive care. There were 83 inpatients in specialised medical care and 98 in primary healthcare. The number of people receiving inpatient care in hospitals has decreased compared with the previous two weeks.  Meanwhile, the number of patients in intensive care has remained at the same level for about three weeks. 

The monitoring report on the epidemic published today and the previous reports are available on the website of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare:

• Monitoring coronavirus (in Finnish and Swedish)Ссылка на другой сайтОткрывается в новой вкладке
• The COVID-19 epidemic: regional situation, recommendations and restrictionsСсылка на другой сайтОткрывается в новой вкладке
• Coronavirus in numbersСсылка на другой сайтОткрывается в новой вкладке (Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa)
• Ministry of Social Affairs and Health sent a circular of hybrid strategy to manage the COVID-19 crisis

Inquiries:

Taneli Puumalainen (development of the epidemic), Chief Physician, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, firstname.lastname@thl.fi 
Liisa-Maria Voipio-Pulkki (situational picture and modelling group), Strategic Director, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, firstname.lastname@stm.fi