News on Coronavirus COVID-19

Wastewater-based surveillance is an effective tool for monitoring the prevalence of infectious diseases circulating in communities. The WastPan project aimed to improve pandemic preparedness through wastewater-based screening. Wastewater contains several pathogens, thus providing an opportunity to monitor the spread of infectious diseases.

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people’s welfare were particularly marked in young people with disabilities, and especially those with a foreign background, a recent study by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare reveals. Around 40 per cent of young people with disabilities and a foreign background reported anxiety, compared to only 14 per cent of the population.

A recent report compares Finns’ state of health and Finnish health services with other EU states and Nordic countries. Released by the European Commission, focus areas of the report include the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and mental health. Although Finland does well in many respects, there are challenges especially in the availability of health services. 

During the first year of the coronavirus epidemic in 2020, mortality increased more among working-age people with disabilities than the rest of the population.