“The number may be over 100, but this is less than we feared. It looks like vaccination protection lasts, “he said said.
Stepani Bendel, Chief Physician of Intensive Care at Kuopio Central Hospital, reminded According to YLE, it is still premature to say how the infections of the last few days will affect the hospital system due to the time between infection and hospitalization.
“Those who are now infected will only see their potential intensive care much later,” he said.
The total number of intensive care patients in Finland on Saturday was 54. Although the number has exceeded the critical limit of 50, which is about a quarter of the total intensive care capacity, the biggest concern has not been the capacity itself but the availability of staff, Bendel said.
In Helsinki and Uusimaa, the number of infections doubled between 20 and 26 December. The situation has not worsened as much as feared, as vaccine intake has continued to rise steadily and the omicron variant does not appear to cause serious forms of the disease, according to Järvinen.
“Thank God most of the population has been vaccinated. If this were not the case, we would not be treating anyone other than coronavirus patients in such an epidemiological situation in hospitals. I’m not sure we would even have places for all coronavirus patients,” he told YLE.
In the Helsinki metropolitan area, however, testing has become a bottleneck, with waiting times extended by almost a week in Western Uusimaa.
“It’s clear that no testing is enough when the disease spreads in this clip,” Järvinen said.
According to Helsingin Sanomat, about 3,000 new infections were reported in the area on Saturday, and an additional 3,000 new infections are expected on Sunday. The weekly rate of infection is thus about 20,000, or hundreds of thousands of exposures. More than a third (35%) of the tests are currently positive.
“It’s probably because people have taken a self-test first. We don’t know how many people can’t get tested or bother to wait,” he said. vaccine protection lasts. “
Finnish hospitals have also found indications that coronavirus patients spend less time in hospitals. The number of hospital patients increased in Helsinki and Uusimaa after Christmas, but some patients were sent home as early as Saturday.
“If our database is accurate, it may indicate that people spend less time in hospitals,” Järvinen said.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page