Coronavirus | The number of corona patients is increasing all over Finland

The coronavirus caused respiratory infections have clearly increased in Finland during the past month. The preparedness manager of the Institute of Health and Welfare (THL), research professor, explains the matter Hannu Kiviranta.

There were more than 1,400 diagnosed corona infections in Finland in the most recent review period, i.e. from 19 to 25 October In the week before this, around 1,290 infections were reported. The latest figures are updated by THL to the website on Thursdays.

Kiviranta points out that the numbers are indicative because corona diagnostics are no longer as widely performed as before. However, the increase in corona cases can also be seen indirectly through the waste water produced by THL of corona analysesKiviranta says.

According to Kiviranta, the number of corona patients requiring hospital treatment is about half this time compared to the corresponding time last year.

“It remains to be seen how high the hospital load will grow,” Kiviranta writes in his email.

“The population is well protected by vaccinations and disease. It may be that last year’s hospital workload is not seen. Due to the corona virus, some individuals have had to go to intensive care during the late fall.”

Call round to the five welfare areas reveals that the number of hospitalized corona patients is increasing all over Finland.

In Finland’s largest welfare region, i.e. Pirkanmaa, the number of cases of tuberculosis requiring hospital treatment started to rise significantly during the turn of the week, says the chief physician Jaana Syrjänen.

“You could have guessed that, because the number of diagnoses made last week started to be clearly more than before.”

A large part of the patients are primary care patients, while there are not many patients requiring specialized medical care, at least not yet.

“Almost all the patients in special care are over 70 years old. Cause this [koronavirus] the need for care for elderly people.”

There are currently only individual patients in intensive care, and they usually have a serious underlying disease. People who are susceptible to a serious disease caused by the coronavirus are, for example, cancer patients or organ transplant patients.

The corona vaccine is now recommended for the elderly and people in risk groups because about a year has passed since the previous vaccination.

“We think that with repeated vaccinations, they will gradually have better protection against the difficult disease.”

According to Syrjæs, the corona has started to follow the seasonal changes, so it has become more of a winter season problem. The underlying causes are the same as for respiratory infections in general: being indoors and in close proximity.

On the other hand, according to Syrjæs, the flu season is just coming in Pirkanmaa. There are still no signs of that in the welfare area.

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In Pirkanmaa, the number of high blood pressure cases requiring hospital treatment started to rise significantly at the turn of the week.

In Uusimaa in Hus, which is responsible for special care, the number of corona patients has quadrupled since the beginning of October. Assistant Chief Medical Officer Eeva from Sweden Husista says that there are about 80 patients in special care. Well over two-thirds of the patients are over 60 years old. According to him, the situation is also similar in the area’s primary health care.

“In basic healthcare, the number of corona patients has increased roughly in the same proportion as in specialized healthcare.”

“Therefore, the corona virus is circulating in the population, and people also get sick with the disease in such a way that it leads to hospitalization.”

According to the Swede, these patients have had the coronavirus as a contributing factor in one way or another when they came to the hospital or emergency room.

“Last week, approximately one-third were in specialized hospital care due to a viral lung infection caused by the coronavirus,” says Ruotsalainen.

“For the rest, Corona was a contributing factor in one way or another to the fact that the patient was in the hospital.”

Grown up despite the number of patients, the situation in intensive care has remained calm in the Husi area.

“The situation in intensive care and intensive care has been calm for a long time. There have been zero to one patients per day or week,” says Ruotsalainen.

The Swede estimates that Finland is dealing with the corona situation hand in hand with the rest of Europe. According to him, already a couple of weeks ago, it had been established in half of the European countries that the corona cases among the elderly had clearly increased.

In Finland, too, it was recommended that patients in nursing homes and severely immunocompromised patients should take booster vaccines already in mid-October.

“It was expected that the corona epidemic would start in Finland in the near future,” says Ruotsalainen.

“Since the epidemic has now started, it would be important to quickly vaccinate risk groups and the aging population, as well as especially patients in home care and nursing facilities.”

In the Husi region, the first flu and corona vaccination point of the fall was opened on Monday at the Meilahti tower hospital.

In Lapland the corona situation is twofold. The virus is actively raging in the Meri-Lap region, but the situation is calmer in the rest of the province, the chief infectious disease doctor of the welfare region Mark Broas tells.

On Monday morning, there were a total of 17 corona patients in special care at Länsi-Pohja Central Hospital in Kemi.

“It’s an extraordinary amount when you take into account that there are about 90 beds. So about 20 percent of the beds are for corona patients,” says Broas.

“Coronavirus can also be seen in the bed wards of the West North health centers, where there are more than 20 corona-positive patients.”

According to Broas, Corona has clearly raised its head in the Meri-Lap region. For example, there were only three corona patients at the Lapland Central Hospital in Rovaniemi on Monday morning. According to Broas, the number is almost the same as last week.

The intensive care situation has remained calm in Lapland as well. The number of corona patients in intensive care was around zero on Monday morning.

in South Savo the number of corona cases requiring ward and intensive care has clearly increased in less than two weeks.

More than 30 patients with a disease caused by the coronavirus are now being treated in the area. The vast majority of them were in treatment specifically because of the corona virus, but some may have another reason.

“In intensive care, we have had 1-2 patients a day during the last week. The need for ward treatment has only increased,” says the chief physician Hans Gardström from the Etelä Savo welfare area.

According to him, compared to the same time last year, there are more corona cases requiring hospital treatment. Gärdström thinks that a year ago people probably remembered the basics better, i.e. they didn’t go out sick and used masks in certain situations more than now.

On the other hand, according to Gärdström, there is no problem with influenza in the Etelä Savonka region yet.

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“Last week, there was quite an explosion in the number of patients with corona in the wards.”

Corona situation was good in the Kymenlaakso region until last week, but then the situation changed.

“Last week there was quite an explosion in the number of corona patients in the wards. Yes, we’re still just barely getting by, but clearly now a new wave is coming quite quickly”, says the chief medical officer of the Kymenlaakso welfare area Marja-Liisa Mäntymaa.

According to him, there are currently 20–25 patients in the hospital wards and a few more in the emergency room.

“Similarly, there are small epidemics here and there in the housing units of social services, which there have been quite a few during the fall, but now there are a little more of them. Staff are also out of work because the corona test shows a positive result,” Mäntymaa says.

Due to the disease caused by the coronavirus, there has been no need for intensive care in Kymenlaakso yet. According to Mäntymaa, the corona patients who have ended up in hospital wards have mainly been elderly, for whom a flu-like corona illness with slightly milder symptoms will take the general condition in a bad direction and may lead to a trip to the hospital.