19.01.2022

The Num­ber of Coro­n­avirus Infec­tions Con­tin­ues to Increase in the Soite Area — the Rec­om­men­da­tions Remain Unchanged

The Cen­tral Ostro­both­nia region­al COVID-19 author­i­ty task group met on Wednes­day 19th of Jan­u­ary 2022 to assess the region­al coro­n­avirus sit­u­a­tion and rec­om­men­da­tions. Due to the omi­cron vari­ant of the coro­n­avirus, the num­ber of coro­n­avirus infec­tions con­tin­ues to rise quick­ly in the Soite area. The region­al rec­om­men­da­tions remain unchanged. We are still await­ing the Region­al State Admin­is­tra­tive Agency’s deci­sion regard­ing restric­tions on gath­er­ings and apply­ing sec­tion 58 d of the Com­mu­ni­ca­ble Dis­eases Act to Soite’s area. 

The inci­dence of coro­n­avirus con­tin­ues to increase quick­ly in Soite’s area. Yes­ter­day, 108 new coro­n­avirus infec­tions were con­firmed, which is is the high­est dai­ly num­ber so far. The inci­dence of infec­tions dur­ing 14 days is cur­rent­ly 950/100,000 res­i­dents in the entire Soite area. Last week a total of 2,000 coro­n­avirus tests were tak­en, of which 17 per­cent were positive.

In Soite’s area, peo­ple who belong to risk groups and elder­ly per­sons are well pro­tect­ed from seri­ous forms of COVID-19 thanks to the vac­ci­na­tions, which results in a low hos­pi­tal work­load. Two COVID-19 patients are cur­rent­ly being treat­ed at Cen­tral Ostro­both­nia Cen­tral Hos­pi­tal. There are cur­rent­ly no coro­n­avirus patients in inten­sive care.

How­ev­er, the num­ber of coro­n­avirus infec­tions is increas­ing so quick­ly that Soite has to make pri­or­i­ti­za­tions in the infec­tion track­ing, and today we will inform in more detail about the new guide­lines for infec­tion track­ing. Per­sons who have received a pos­i­tive coro­n­avirus test will receive a text mes­sage that pro­vides short instruc­tions for how to act and instruc­tions for when to con­tact Soite. Addi­tion­al infor­ma­tion on Soite’s coro­n­avirus web­site.

Infec­tions are spread­ing par­tic­u­lar­ly among chil­dren, young peo­ple and the work­ing age pop­u­la­tion. The major­i­ty of infec­tions have been con­firmed in the age groups 10 to 19, 20 to 29 and 40 to 49. Less than 8 per­cent of the infec­tions were con­firmed in per­sons aged 60 and old­er. The effect of the Omi­cron vari­ant of the coro­n­avirus can be seen in the coro­n­avirus sta­tis­tics in that most of those who are infect­ed have been vac­ci­nat­ed. It is espe­cial­ly impor­tant to take the coro­n­avirus vac­cine now that the quick­ly spread­ing omi­cron vari­ant is present in the area, as the vac­cine pro­tects you from seri­ous forms of coro­n­avirus dis­ease in particular.

Soite’s area is still being clas­si­fied as an area with com­mu­ni­ty trans­mis­sion. The region­al rec­om­men­da­tions remain unchanged. A rec­om­men­da­tion about remote work and an exten­sive facial mask rec­om­men­da­tion is in effect with­in Soite’s area. All cur­rent reg­u­la­tions and rec­om­men­da­tions regard­ing the coro­n­avirus epi­dem­ic are list­ed on Soite’s coro­na web­site: https://korona.soite.fi/en/recommendations/

The group of author­i­ties has pre­vi­ous­ly sug­gest­ed that the Region­al State Admin­is­tra­tive Agency of Wer­stern and Inland Fin­land lim­it the num­ber of par­tic­i­pants at pub­lic events and pub­lic gath­er­ings indoors to 10 per­sons and that sec­tion 58 d of the Com­mu­ni­ca­ble Dis­eases Act be applied to Soite’s area. The pro­pos­al is still rel­e­vant and awaits the agency’s deci­sion. The cur­rent restric­tion issued by the Region­al State Admin­is­tra­tive Agency of West­ern and Inland Fin­land lim­its the num­ber of par­tic­i­pants at indoor pub­lic events and pub­lic gath­er­ings to 20. The restric­tion is in effect until the 30th of Jan­u­ary 2022.

The author­i­ty task group would like to remind every­one that you should not leave your home if you have even only mild symp­toms of a res­pi­ra­to­ry infec­tion. We rec­om­mend home tests for any­one who has symp­toms of a res­pi­ra­to­ry infec­tion, such as a fever, a run­ny nose or a cough. Addi­tion­al infor­ma­tion on Soite’s coro­n­avirus web­site: If you sus­pect an infec­tion, fol­low these instruc­tions.

We strong­ly rec­om­mend that you get ful­ly vac­ci­nat­ed against the coro­n­avirus, as the coro­n­avirus is not going away and it will be very dif­fi­cult to avoid the dis­ease in the future. It is sig­nif­i­cant­ly safer to encounter the coro­n­avirus if you are vac­ci­nat­ed. Vac­ci­na­tions give an effec­tive pro­tec­tion against severe forms of coro­n­avirus dis­ease. With­in Soite’s area, vac­ci­na­tions are main­ly done dur­ing walk-in vac­ci­na­tion days with­out appoint­ment book­ing, which means you can come to a coro­n­avirus vac­ci­na­tion when it suits you best. The timetable for vac­ci­na­tions can be found on Soite’s coro­n­avirus web­site: https://korona.soite.fi/en/the-coronavirus-vaccines/

The region­al COVID-19 author­i­ty task group will hold its next meet­ing on Wednes­day 26th of Octo­ber 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 task 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.