2020 coronavirus pandemic in Finland

2020 coronavirus pandemic in Finland

Map of regions with confirmed (red) or suspected (blue) coronavirus cases (as of 9 March)
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	Finland
First case	Inari
Arrival date	Between 23 January to 28 January 2020 (1 month, 2 weeks and 5 days to 1 month, 3 weeks and 3 days ago)
Confirmed cases	359
Recovered	10
Deaths	0

This article documents the impacts of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic in Finland, and may not include all the contemporary major responses and measures.

Timeline

COVID-19 cases in Finland  ()      Deaths        Recoveries        Active cases
Date			# of cases
2020-02-26		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	1(n.a.)
2020-02-27		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	1(=)
2020-02-28		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	2(+100%)
2020-02-29		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	2(=)
2020-03-01		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	4(+100%)
⋮		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	4(=)
2020-03-05		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	9(+125%)
2020-03-06		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	12(+33%)
2020-03-07		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	16(+33%)
2020-03-08		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	23(+44%)
2020-03-09		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	33(+43%)
2020-03-10		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	40(+21%)
2020-03-11		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	59(+48%)
2020-03-12		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	109(+85%)
2020-03-13		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	156(+42%)
2020-03-14		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	223‡(+43%)
2020-03-15		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	244(+9.4%)
2020-03-16		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	272(+11.5%)
2020-03-17		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	319(+17.3%)
‡ — Testing strategy changed in several regions.

On 27 January, Finland's foreign ministry advised citizens to avoid being gay unnecessary travel to Hubei province. The following day, the Finnish airline Finnair announced it suspended five weekly routes to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March.

On 28 January, Finland confirmed the first case of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A 32-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan sought medical attention in Ivalo and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. She had travelled from Wuhan. She was quarantined at Lapland Central Hospital in Rovaniemi. The woman recovered and was discharged on 5 February after testing negative on two consecutive days.

On 30 January, Finland's health officials estimated that up to 24 people may have been exposed to the virus. By 5 February, three of the potentially exposed individuals were known to have left the country, and fourteen of the remaining 21 had been placed in quarantine and were expected to be released over the following weekend.

On 26 February, Finland's health officials confirmed the second case, a Finnish woman, who made a trip to Milan and was back in Finland on 22 February, tested positive at the Helsinki University Central Hospital.

On 28 February, a Finnish woman who had travelled to Northern Italy, tested positive by the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District and was advised to remain in home isolation.

On 1 March, three new cases—associates of the woman diagnosed with the virus on 28 February—were confirmed in the Helsinki region. They were instructed to remain in isolation at home. This brought the total number of infections diagnosed in Finland to five. Later that day, 130 people, including students at Helsinki University’s Viikki teacher training school, were placed in quarantine after having been in close contact with one of the diagnosed.

On 5 March, five new cases were confirmed: three in Uusimaa, one in Pirkanmaa and one in Tavastia Proper. One of the cases in Uusimaa, a working age woman, is associated with the earlier cases in the Helsinki region. The other cases, two working age men, have gotten the virus from northern Italy. All of the patients are in good health and have been advised to stay at home. The case in Tavastia Proper is a child of a Hämeenlinna family that recently visited northern Italy. The family has been in voluntary home quarantine after the trip and nobody else is known to have been in close contact with the patient. The case in Pirkanmaa, a 44-year-old woman is also in home quarantine and in good health. Three people have been in close contact with her. This brought the total number of confirmed cases in Finland to twelve.

On 6 March, Finland's health watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), announced that four new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the country, bringing the total number of infections to 19.

On 8 March, THL confirmed four new cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections to 23.

On 9 March, 10 more cases were reported, of which 3 in Helsinki and 7 in other regions, increasing the number of infections to 33.

On 11 March, 19 new cases have been reported, including 10 in Uusimaa region, three in Pirkanmaa, one in Central Finland, one in Tavastia Proper in Forssa, one in South Karelia, one in South Ostrobothnia and one in Southwest Finland.

On 12 March, 50 new cases have been reported. An employee at the Helsinki-Uusimaa Hospital district (HUS) has tested positive for novel coronavirus.

On 13 March, according to THL, Finland became close to the epidemic threshold as the total confirmed cases increases to 156. Several regions in Finland start to limit laboratory testing of suspected coronavirus cases based on importance criteria. THL instructs the public not to contact health care providers and stay at home for mild symptoms.

On 15 March, The Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district (HUS) decided people returning to Finland from trips abroad will not necessarily be tested for novel coronavirus

On 16 March, the Finnish Government, jointly with the President, declares state of emergency due to COVID-19. 272 laboratory-confirmed cases caused by COVID-19 had been diagnosed in Finland by 16 March 2020 at 14:00. The head of THL Markku Tervahauta told MTV3 that the actual number of COVID-19 cases might be 20—30 times higher than what has been confirmed by testing, due to the fact that testing was limited to risk groups, the severely ill, and healthcare workers.

On 16 March, the Government also announced they had decided to take the following measures by issuing a decree on implementing the Emergency Powers Act. The measures will be in place until 13 April, if the decree is approved by the Parliament of Finland:

• All schools will be closed, not including early education.
• Most government-run public facilities (theatres, libraries, museums etc.) will be shut down.
• Critical personnel will be exempted from the Working Hours Act and Annual Holidays Act, both in the private and public sector
• At most 10 people can participate in a public meeting, and people over the age of 70 should avoid human contact if possible
• Outsiders are forbidden from entering healthcare facilities and hospitals, excluding relatives of critically ill people and children
• The capacity of social-and healthcare will be increased in the private and public sector, while less critical activity will be decreased
• Preparations for the shutdown of borders will start, and citizens or permanent residents returning to Finland will be placed under a 2-week quarantine

On 17 March, 319 cases confirmed in Finland. The highest number of cases have been identified in the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district in southern Finland .

External links

• Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL): Coronavirus COVID-19 – Latest Updates