Thursday 27 January 2022
The translated version of the coronavirus review for Lapland is published weekly.
Anyone experiencing even the slightest of symptoms while in Lapland must take a coronavirus test immediately. The municipalities of Lapland offer free testing for people experiencing symptoms.
(Link: COVID-19 Virus Testing Strategy issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health)
Links about the current situation:
- Official instructions from Lapland to travellers who suspect they may have caught the coronavirus
- Lapland Hospital District: Help for the traveller who has received a positive COVID-19 test result
- THL: Travel and the coronavirus pandemic
- Additional guidelines, current recommendations, and restrictions for hospital districts
Lapland Hospital District
(information as of 27 January at 14:39)
The Lapland Hospital District is in the community transmission phase of the epidemic.
The incidence rate based on the last two weeks (10–23 January) is 2,457.5 per 100,000 inhabitants.
The incidence rate based on one week (17–23 January) is 1,230.5 per 100,000 inhabitants.
This incidence rate also includes cases of patients who live outside the Lapland Hospital District area. For this reason, the figure can differ from that announced by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) that does not count those living outside of Lapland.
There is still no change in the number of infections compared to last week
901 new cases of the coronavirus infection have been confirmed this week. The number of new infections is around the same as last week.
Last week (17–23 January), a total of 1,442 new coronavirus infections were confirmed in the Lapland Hospital District area. In total, 9,830 coronavirus tests were taken in the Lapland Hospital District, with 8,862 of these being rapid antigen tests. The proportion of positive test cases in relation to the total number of tests taken was 14.63 percent.
The number of cases has now remained on a weekly basis at approximately 1,500 cases. Two thirds of last week’s infections were confirmed in Rovaniemi, with the remainder being reported in other municipalities of the Lapland Hospital District. The number of cases in Rovaniemi has increased, but elsewhere in the hospital district the number of cases is either the same or decreasing.
Number of positive coronavirus tests confirmed in the Lapland Hospital District by week
Week no. 2 (10–16 January): 1,409 cases
Week no. 3 (17–23 January): 1,442 cases
Week no. 4 (current week): 901 cases (as of 27 January at 14:39)
The total number of cases confirmed in the Lapland Hospital District on the basis of coronavirus tests conducted at testing stations is 9289. This figure also includes persons living outside the area.
The City of Rovaniemi has stopped reporting on potential exposure sites, as in practice exposure is now possible anywhere. Health-safety behaviour is all the more important in order to curb the rapid spread of the epidemic.
- 5 January LAPLAND HOSPITAL DISTRICT: Ban on patient visits at the Lapland Central Hospital and other social and health care units
- 4 January City of Rovaniemi: COVID-19 tracking congested – the city asks people with positive test results to stay isolated
- Job vacancy: Looking for help in the municipalities of the Lapland Hospital District in fighting COVID-19, vacancies now open for Vaccinators, Tracers and Testers
Current vaccination coverage (updated on 27 January)
| For those aged 12 years or older | Lapland Hospital District | Länsi-Pohja Hospital District | Whole of Finland |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st dose | 88.9% | 87.6% | 86.6% |
| 2nd dose | 85.6% | 84.2% | 83.5% |
| 3nd dose | 50.7% | 46.9% | 48.2% |
| Whole population | Lapland Hospital District | Länsi-Pohja Hospital District | Whole of Finland |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st dose | 79.0% | 77.6% | 76.3% |
| 2nd dose | 76.0% | 74.6% | 73.5% |
| 3nd dose | 45.0% | 41.5% | 42.5% |
***
Länsi-Pohja Hospital District
(information as of 25 January at 15:25)
The coronavirus review for the Länsi-Pohja Hospital District is mainly published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The Länsi-Pohja Hospital District is currently in the community transmission phase of the epidemic.
Testing, tracing, isolation, and quarantine practices are changing in Meri-Lappi (Sea Lapland) starting from 29 January 2022
When should a test be taken?
In the future, it is not necessary for people with minor symptoms to seek a coronavirus test, it is sufficient to stay at home if you have a symptomatic respiratory infection. You can return to work or school after two days without experiencing any symptoms. There is currently so much of the coronavirus infection in the population that all respiratory infections can now be considered to be caused by COVID-19. There are only a few diseases in the area caused by other viruses.
An exception to the rule for not needing to take a test are those working in social and health care and their family members who suffer from respiratory problems. Pregnant women and those who have given birth within the past six weeks are also encouraged to seek a COVID-19 test when symptoms occur.
An asymptomatic person should not seek a COVID-19 test, apart from when ordered to do so by the infectious disease physician.
If you have a positive home test, you no longer need to take a confirmatory test, and you should stay at home isolated for five days. You can stop isolation five days after the positive home test, provided that this period includes two asymptomatic days.
Tracing and quarantine practices change
In the future, the tracing infections will be concentrated in the social and health care units and institutional epidemics. Current quarantine practices and the making of quarantine decisions are being abandoned regionally. There is currently a long delay in making quarantine decisions and the practice no longer has a limiting impact on the epidemic, since the disease has already become widely spread.
Persons who have been exposed to the coronavirus (over 15 minutes contact with a COVID-19-positive person at a distance of less than two metres) are urged to avoid all contacts with other people for at least five days, if possible. Remote working and distance learning are recommended where possible. You can go to work, school, and study normally if you cannot work remotely. The use of face masks and taking care of good hand hygiene is recommended. If you experience symptoms, you should immediately go home on sick leave.
Policies concerning contacts with coronavirus-positive people and isolation are changing
The long delay made it impossible to issue isolation decisions as required by the Communicable Disease Act. As a general rule, isolation decisions based on infectious diseases have been abandoned regionally. In the future, isolation will only be imposed in specific cases where the aim is to limit and prevent institutional epidemics and as part of the control of the epidemic in social and health care units.
A patient receiving a positive coronavirus test shall be notified by text message (SMS) of the positive test result and shall be required to isolate at home for at least five days. After recovery, isolation can be stopped after a period of five (5) days if it includes at least two asymptomatic days.
Normal sick leave practices implemented in the future, stay at home if you feel unwell
If the patient requires a sick leave certificate for his or her absence from work, he or she is in normal contact with the occupational health service or his or her own health centre using online services and by telephone. The sick person must not leave the home for the purpose of getting the sick leave certificate.
Employers are recommended to extend their self-reporting policy after an employee has received a positive coronavirus test result, thereby avoiding the need to acquire a sick leave certificate.
Sea-Lapland infectious disease physicians
Number of positive coronavirus tests confirmed in the Länsi-Pohja Hospital District by week
Week no. 1 (3–9 January): 300 cases
Week no. 2 (10–16 January): 331 cases
Week no. 3 (17–23 January): approximately 450 cases (as of 24 January at 10:14)
The total number of cases confirmed in the Länsi-Pohja Hospital District on the basis of coronavirus tests conducted at testing stations is 3,210.
Infection Control Unit
Silja Ranta: Rokotuksen saaminen on cool (Getting the Vaccine is Cool)
Wilma Lohi: Rokotekapina (Vaccination Rebellion)
Lasse Katainen & Jan Åqvist: Älä sie huijo (Stop Swatting)