18.08.2021

Soite’s area remains in the accel­er­a­tion phase of the coro­n­avirus epidemic

The Cen­tral Ostro­both­nia region­al COVID-19 author­i­ty task group met on Wednes­day 18th of August 2021 to assess the region­al coro­n­avirus sit­u­a­tion and rec­om­men­da­tions. The author­i­ty task group declared that Soite’s area remains in the accel­er­a­tion phase of the coro­n­avirus epi­dem­ic. The author­i­ty group strong­ly empha­sizes the impor­tance of observ­ing safe­ty dis­tances and hygiene guide­lines dur­ing all gath­er­ings and hob­by activities.

Over the past 14 days, a total of 59 coro­n­avirus cas­es have been con­firmed in Soite and the inci­dence of infec­tions dur­ing 14 days is cur­rent­ly 76/100,000 cit­i­zens. 1.6% of the coro­n­avirus tests are pos­i­tive. Of the chains of infec­tion, 78% have been traced. In the Soite area, coro­n­avirus infec­tions are cur­rent­ly most preva­lent among 20–29-year-olds. No patients are cur­rent­ly being treat­ed at the Cen­tral Ostro­both­nia Cen­tral Hos­pi­tal because of COVID-19.

As per the author­i­ty task group’s deci­sion, the Soite area remains in the accel­er­a­tion phase of the coro­n­avirus epi­dem­ic. The region­al rec­om­men­da­tions remain unchanged, but the author­i­ty group strong­ly empha­sizes the impor­tance of observ­ing safe­ty dis­tances and hygiene guide­lines dur­ing all gath­er­ings and hob­by activ­i­ties. Event orga­niz­ers must ensure hygiene prac­tices in accor­dance with § 58 c in the Com­mu­ni­ca­ble Dis­eases Act (in Finnish) in order to pre­vent the spread of the coro­n­avirus. We remind you that dur­ing gath­er­ings it must be ensured that:

• it is possible for participants to wash their hands
• crowds are avoided and that there are spacious entry and exit arrangements and an adequate number of toilet facilities 
• contact surfaces are cleaned
• the use of protective masks is recommended both indoors and outdoors
• the size of the space is considered in relation to the participants, and that maintaining safety distances is possible
• participants are informed about coronavirus safety: only healthy persons participate in the event

Fur­ther­more, the author­i­ty group wish­es to remind every­one that the fol­low­ing guide­lines are rec­om­mend­ed for recre­ation­al activities:

• Reducing the coronavirus risk in sport, physical exercise, and other recreational activities (THL)
• Ohje koronavirustartuntojen ehkäisemisestä lasten ja nuorten leiritoiminnassa (OKM & THL, in Finnish)

The Region­al State Admin­is­tra­tive Agency will inves­ti­gate the need for restric­tions in the Soite area and will inform about this in more detail later. 

All cur­rent reg­u­la­tions and rec­om­men­da­tions regard­ing the coro­n­avirus epi­dem­ic with­in Soite’s area are list­ed on Soite’s coro­na web­site: https://korona.soite.fi/en/recommendations/

The instruc­tions for event orga­niz­ers can also be found sep­a­rate­ly on Soite’s coro­na web­site: https://korona.soite.fi/en/instructions-to-event-organizers/

The region­al COVID-19 author­i­ty work group will hold its next meet­ing on Wednes­day 25 August 2021 to assess the region­al coro­n­avirus sit­u­a­tion and rec­om­men­da­tions. If there are changes in the region­al coro­n­avirus sit­u­a­tion, the author­i­ty task group will con­vene if nec­es­sary. The author­i­ty group con­sists of experts from the Finnish Insti­tute for Health and Wel­fare (THL), the Region­al State Admin­is­tra­tive Agency (AVI), Cen­tre for Eco­nom­ic Devel­op­ment, Trans­port and the Envi­ron­ment (ELY) and Soite.

Today’s coro­n­avirus situation

One new coro­n­avirus infec­tion has been con­firmed in Soite’s area. The infect­ed per­son was already in quar­an­tine, and there­fore this case caused no new exposures.