Wednesday 16 March 2022
Do not go to any public places if you are ill. If you have mild symptoms that indicate the coronavirus, stay at home, and check the test criteria for your home municipality.
If you get a positive result from COVID-19 test, stay at home for five days calculated from the beginning of the symptoms. People who have the virus are not isolated, but are treated in accordance with normal sick leave practices.
Continue to maintain safe distancing of at least 2 metres, take care of hand and cough hygiene and the use of a face mask in all public indoor areas and on public transport where safe distancing cannot be adhered to.
Links about the current situation:
- THL:COVID-19 cases, state of hospital care, and deaths
- THL: Travel and the coronavirus pandemic
- Additional guidelines, current recommendations, and restrictions for hospital districts
- Lapland Hospital District:COVID-19 testing protocols have changed
Lapland Hospital District
(information as of 16 March)
The Lapland Hospital District no longer reports the number of new coronavirus infections. In the future, the status of the departmental workload will be communicated on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This figure includes potential intensive care patients as well as patients admitted for other reasons who have later been found to have the coronavirus.
The incidence rate based on the last two weeks (28 February – 12 March) is 1,043.1 per 100,000 inhabitants.
The incidence rate based on one week (7–13 March) is 511.7 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.
The Lapland Hospital District is in the community transmission phase of the epidemic.
Currently, 19 coronavirus-positive patients are being treated in hospital
Last week (7–13 March) A total of 598 new coronavirus infections were laboratory-confirmed in the Lapland Hospital District area. A total of total 3,055 coronavirus tests were taken in the Lapland Hospital District, with 2,455 of these being rapid antigen tests. The proportion of positive test cases in relation to the total number of tests taken was 19.57 percent.
| Date | Coronavirus-positive patients receiving treatment (Lapland Central Hospital/LKS) |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 16 March | 19 |
| Tuesday 15 March | 19 |
| Thursday 10 March | 12 |
| Monday 7 March | 10 |
| Friday 4 March | 4 |
| Wednesday 2 March | 5 |
| Monday 28 February | 11 |
| Friday 25 February | 10 |
| Wednesday 23 February | 7 |
| Monday 21 February | 9 |
| Friday 18 February | 10 |
Current vaccination coverage (updated on 16 March)
| For those aged 18 years or older | Lapland Hospital District | Länsi-Pohja Hospital District | Whole of Finland |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st dose | 90.0% | 89.2% | 89.4% |
| 2nd dose | 87.7% | 86.8% | 87.1% |
| 3nd dose | 62.7% | 62.1% | 62.2% |
| Whole population | Lapland Hospital District | Länsi-Pohja Hospital District | Whole of Finland |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st dose | 81.7% | 79.5% | 80.1% |
| 2nd dose | 78.0% | 75.8% | 76.5% |
| 3nd dose | 52.0% | 50.8% | 50.8% |
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Länsi-Pohja Hospital District
If you experience symptoms, stay at home, do the Omaolo test and arrange to have a coronavirus test, if necessary. Always take good care of hand hygiene and maintain safe distances. Download the Koronavilkku app. Avoid all unnecessary close contact with others.
(Information as of 16 March)
The coronavirus review for the Länsi-Pohja Hospital District is mainly published on Wednesdays. The hospital district will no longer publish the numbers of new infections, but in the future, the epidemic situation and its development will be monitored according to the strain put on hospitals.
The Länsi-Pohja Hospital District is currently in the community transmission phase of the epidemic.
Regional Pandemic Working Group: “The pandemic is not over yet”
In its meeting convened today, the Länsi-Pohja Regional Pandemic Working Group concluded that the pandemic situation in the region is not yet over.
The number of tests taken in the area has decreased by about 30%, which is partly affected by last week’s skiing holiday (spring break). 1,300 tests were carried out last week and more than half of these provided a positive result. The actual number of people with the coronavirus can be many times more, as people experiencing only minor symptoms no longer need to take a COVID-19 test simply to receive confirmation of the virus.
There is still a high incidence of the disease and continuation of coronavirus safety measures remains topical (safe distancing, hand hygiene, use of face mask), especially for those who are non-vaccinated or belong to one of the risk groups.
Considering the overall situation, the slight easing of pressure put on hospitals is positive, and there are currently no COVID-19 patients in the Central Hospital receiving intensive care. However, there are eight COVID-19 patients treated in a hospital ward. There are 12 COVID-19 patients currently receiving treatment in health care centre wards.
Several care units in the region have experienced the COVID-19 virus in recent weeks. The situation of the epidemic in these care units is also calming down.
In the social and health care sector, there is a high level of staff suffering from the COVID-19 virus, but the situation has also become a little easier in this respect.
Unfortunately, the number of deaths related to COVID-19 has increased, as one third of all deaths related to COVID-19 has occurred in recent weeks. During the pandemic, more than 30 elderly and/or people with underlying serious illnesses have died in the region from the coronavirus infection.
Vaccinations in the region have been severely slowed down. Existing vaccines will no longer be delivered to the region. The effectiveness of vaccines against difficult forms of the disease and hospitalisation has also been maintained for new COVID-19 variants. For the time being, vaccines are still well available in municipalities.
A more traditionally prepared Nuvaxovid vaccine has also arrived in the area alongside existing RNA vaccines. These will be provided to anyone over 18 years old who wants the vaccine. The municipalities will provide detailed instructions on their websites in the near future.