HELSINKI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare has confirmed on Wednesday that a Finnish national who recently returned from Italy is the first of the country's citizens to have contracted the coronavirus disease, officially called COVID-19.
"One person in the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district has been diagnosed with the coronavirus disease, as confirmed by laboratory tests. The infection occurred in Milan in northern Italy. The patient is currently being treated at the University Hospital of Helsinki. She is in a good condition," an institute statement read.
Finland's Yle broadcaster, citing the hospital's chief physician, said that the woman returned to Finland from Italy on Sunday, adding that she has only been in contact with two individuals, who are now undergoing tests.
In late January, a Chinese tourist from Wuhan, the outbreak's epicenter, tested positive for the disease while in Finland.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy has risen dramatically in recent days. On Saturday, health officials reported 79 cases in the European country. That number has since risen to 378, according to The Local news portal, and 12 people have died in Italy after contracting the disease.
Originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December, COVID-19 has since infected over 81,200 people worldwide, resulting in the deaths of over 2,750 people. Over a third of individuals who contracted the disease have been cured, although the outbreak is gaining pace in Europe, as several European countries, including Austria, Switzerland, and Croatia, have reported their first confirmed cases in recent days.
