THE FINNISH INSTITUTE for Health and Welfare (THL) on Friday said it is aware of more than 40 cases in which a person infected with the new coronavirus has exposed several others to the virus in early-childhood, primary or upper secondary education since the start of the school year.
Although over 1,700 people have been ordered into quarantine due the exposures, only a few further infections have been detected.
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Fewer than 10 in hospital care despite rise in infections
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“The initial monitoring data indicate that the infected and exposed pupils are being identified reasonably well. There have only been a few further infections so far, similarly to the spring of 2020,” commented Emmi Sarvikivi, a medical advisor at THL.
THL on Friday underlined that it is monitoring the situation among children and young people by collecting data on infections and exposures.
It also clarified the uncertainty surrounding its instructions for testing underage people for the virus. Under school-aged children with mild respiratory symptoms, it said, can be monitored at home for a few days without getting tested. Older children, young people and adults, on the other hand, should get tested immediately after developing symptoms associated with the virus and refrain from leaving home.
Children with only mild symptoms should also get tested without delay if they or another family member have been exposed to a confirmed coronavirus carrier or travelled abroad in the past two weeks, according to Sarvikivi.
“If people with mild symptoms fail to comply with the instructions on testing and avoiding contacts, the diagnosis is delayed and both the likelihood of further infections and the group of exposed people will grow,” she stated.
“This makes the effort to fight the epidemic more difficult.”
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
