HELSINKI, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Finland appears to be past its latest COVID-19 peak, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (STM) said here on Thursday.

There are clear signs of change for the better in the coronavirus pandemic in Finland, the ministry said at a joint press conference with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), adding that the number of confirmed infections in country has been decreasing for three consecutive weeks.

By Thursday noon, a total of 1,000,472 COVID-19 cases had been diagnosed in Finland. Of these, 50,889 cases were reported in the past seven days. Between March 21 and April 3, the number of diagnosed cases was 95,636, and between April 4 and April 17 the respective figure was 60,820.

However, regional differences remain in the infection numbers.

The COVID-19 workload of hospitals across Finland has been gradually decreasing.

Two weeks ago, Finland authorized a fourth vaccine dose for people aged 80 and older. Liisa-Maria Voipio-Pulkki, a leading expert at the STM, said that so far only 50 percent of those cleared for the fourth dose have received the shot.

Following the THL's decision to lift the general face mask recommendation a week ago, Finland's flag carrier Finnair said on Thursday that as of April 25 it will scrap the mask mandate for customers and crew, unless wearing a mask is specifically required by the authorities of the destination or origin country.

The government-owned railway company VR and Finland's Parliament also removed the face mask mandate on Thursday. The day before, the mask recommendation was lifted in schools and on public transport in the Helsinki Metropolitan area. The use of masks remains mandatory for healthcare and social service personnel.

However, the decision by the Finnish health authorities to relax the rules has divided the country's medical community.

Eeva Ruotsalainen, deputy chief physician at the Helsinki-Uusimaa hospital district, said on Thursday it is too early to stop using masks as the virus is still spreading wildly in the population.

"The number of COVID-19-related deaths has reached record levels in recent months," she told national broadcaster Yle. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)