Updated on 30 March at 17:15.

• So far, nearly 640,000 cases have been diagnosed globally. A total of 202 countries, regions and territories have reported infections.
• THL is monitoring and assessing the situation together with the European Centre for Disease Prevention (ECDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

See also:

• Frequently asked questions about coronavirus COVID-19
• Information about the disease: Coronavirus COVID-19

The situation in Finland

• The risk of infection has increased throughout Finland, and Finland is preparing for a larger scale epidemic
• Infections have been diagnosed in every one of Finland’s provinces. The majority of cases have been diagnosed in the Uusimaa region. The epidemic is progressing at different rates in different parts of the country.
• All infection chains are no longer known. Efforts are still being made to keep track of infection chains in order to slow down the progression of the epidemic.
• The Government, together with the President of the Republic, have declared a state of emergency in Finland due to the coronavirus situation.
• Measures implemented by the Government have included the closure of schools and educational institutions, restrictions on public meetings and travel and border crossing, and an increase in social and health care capacities. The policies will be in force until 13 April 2020.
• On 27 March, Finland’s Parliament approved the Government’s proposal for restricting travel between Uusimaa and Finland’s other regions.
• The residents of Uusimaa must remain within the region and the residents of other regions may not visit Uusimaa, with the exclusion of certain exceptions.  Leisure travel across the Uusimaa regional border is not permitted. However, every resident has the right to return to their home region or region of residence. Restrictions on travel will be in force until 19 April 2020.

COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Finland

• By 9.30 on 30 March, a total of 1,313 laboratory-confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been diagnosed in Finland.
• Of the cases reported to the register, 52 % are men and 48 % women.
• The figures are based on the cases reported by laboratories to the National Infectious Diseases Register, which are updated in the register according to date of sampling.
• There are currently 143 hospitalised patients, 49 of whom are in intensive care.
• There have been 13 deaths in Finland that have been determined to have resulted from the coronavirus, ten in the  Helsinki University Hospital catchment area, 1 in the Kuopio University Hospital catchment area, 1 in the Oulu University Hospital catchment area and 1 in the Tampere University Hospital catchment area.
• THL has opened a map application to which it compiles information on laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Finland.
  • Please note! During the weekend 28–29 March, the map application contained erroneous data. The application showed too large a number (a total of 45) COVID-19 cases in the statistics of various hospital districts, because some cases had been reported twice. This error was corrected in the National Infectious Diseases Register and map application at 11.42 on Monday 30 March.
• The application’s web address is www.thl.fi/koronakartta.
  • The application presents the confirmed cases in Finland as well as their prevalence, meaning the number of cases per 100,000 residents in the hospital district.
  • Finland’s case numbers can be viewed according the date of testing as well as according to the total number of cases. Additionally, the service includes information on cases by age group as well as the gender distribution of cases.
  • The map application data is based on the data in the National Infectious Diseases Register.
  • A few days pass from the time a sample is analysed before data on the sample is updated in the  National Infectious Diseases Register.
  • The data in the map application is updated at 9.30 every morning.
  • The now published application will be continuously developed, and more features and information content will be available in the near future. The data on which the map application is based can be retrieved via an open interface link.
  • Web address for the data open data description and the interface
• The actual number of COVID-19 infections in Finland is likely higher than reported, as not all those who have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic are tested.
• Most of the COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Finland have been mild.
• Several hospitalised patients have already recovered and been discharged.
• Finnish hospitals are well prepared for examining and treating coronavirus infections in isolation.

The table shows the number of patients by catchment area that have been hospitalised due to COVID-19 and died of the disease (updated on at 8: 00 on 30 March). At the moment, the patient situation is reported by catchment area to ensure patient protection, as the number of patients in catchment areas other than the Helsinki University Hospital catchment area is small.

* Finland’s hospital districts comprise five catchment areas, the centre of which is a university hospital.

Corona sampling in Finland

• By 30 March, more than 21,000 samples meeting the sampling criteria have been analysed in Finland.
• The total number of samples analysed in laboratories is  only updated on weekdays.
• There may still be delays in the reporting and recording of samples in the National Infectious Diseases Register.
• Finland does not yet have sufficient capacity to test all suspected coronaviruses cases.
• The THL and hospital districts have jointly had to prioritise certain patient and personnel groups in the testing of the coronavirus.
• Samples are primarily taken from patients with severe respiratory tract infection symptoms and from healthcare and social welfare personnel, so that the health of personnel and the adequacy of the workforce can be secured.
• If capacity allows, we can also test samples from other patient groups. Samples from people with mild symptoms returning from trips are still taken at the discretion of a physician. People who have contracted COVID-19, but only have mild symptoms can stay home to recover. People without symptoms are not tested.
• In Finland, coronavirus tests are currently carried out by numerous laboratories in both the public and private sectors. Laboratories have increased their testing capacity to the best of their ability.
• THL is also testing samples collected for influenza laboratory based sample monitoring for coronavirus. So far, the samples have proved negative.

The situation in Europe

• In Europe, the COVID-19 epidemic is widespread in many countries.
• A total of over 360,000 cases have been diagnosed in Europe. More than half of all cases reported worldwide have now been reported in Europe.
• The majority of COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed in Italy, and the situation growing worse especially in Spain.
• Many European countries have closed their borders in order to prevent or slow down the epidemic and have imposed extensive restrictions on mobility and public and private sector activities.
• A large number of cases have also been reported in the Nordic countries, a total of over 11,500 cases.
• We are particularly monitoring and assessing the situation closely in the Nordic countries.
• A summary of cases diagnosed in Europe on the ECDC website.
• Numbers of cases in the European countries (WHO)

The situation with the epidemic outside Europe

• The epidemic is widely underway in many countries, including in the United States where more than 100,000 cases have been reported.
• In the originating area in China, the epidemic appears to have subsided.
• So far, more than 30,000 people have died of the virus globally. The vast majority of infected people have recovered.
• Number of cases in different countries (WHO)

International risk assessment

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus epidemic a pandemic on 11 March 2020.
• The ECDC and WHO regularly update their assessment of the situation. THL is monitoring the international situation, developing guidelines for health care and laboratories, assessing the health risks related to the coronavirus and drawing up assessments of how the situation with the virus may develop.
• COVID-19 (ECDC)
• Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak (WHO)

Guidelines for tourists

• Due to the exceptional situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs urges that all travel abroad be avoided until further notice.
• Finnish travellers are advised to return to Finland as soon as possible.
• Information on the coronavirus, its prevention and treatment instructions will be distributed to all those arriving in the country.
• Finns returning from abroad and those permanently living in Finland are encouraged to maintain a safe distance to other people and to remain in quarantine-like conditions for 14 days after their journey (home quarantine).
• Number of cases in different countries (WHO)

Media enquiries

We are currently receiving a very large number of interview requests regarding coronavirus.

Please send all interview requests by email to info(at)thl.fi or by telephone to +358 29 524 6161. The telephone number serves customers on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. After 4 p.m., requests can be sent by e-mail.