Finland has confirmed 34 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, said health officials at a briefing on Thursday.

The figure is on a clear upward trend in Finland, with sequencing set to continue nationwide.

The variant appears to be more highly transmissible than previous strains, and has led to steep rises in case counts in other countries.

In Finland some 10,500 Covid infections were recorded last week, with 360 infections per 100,000 residents over the last 14 days.

On Thursday the THL said that nearly 2,000 new cases had been confirmed within the past 24 hours, following Wednesday's record daily high of 2,225 new infections.

Three quarters of target group boosted

At the briefing officials also said some 560,000 people in Finland had received their third dose of Covid vaccine, representing some 75 percent of those for whom THL recommends a booster jab.

That group includes those in risk groups, those caring for Covid patients, those working at care homes and those who had their first two doses of vaccine within six weeks of each other.

Those who have had two doses and are healthy have less of an urgent need for a booster shot. Some municipalities have however begun administering third shots to residents under age 60.

Taneli Puumalainen, the head of THL's Infectious Diseases Control and Vaccines Unit, said that municipalities estimate they are able to deliver some 500,000 doses of vaccine a week, with the private sector capacity at around 100,000 on top of that.

The pace of booster jab delivery is expected to quicken now, after the flu vaccination season ended.

The intensive care situation has recently changed in that there are now more cases outside the Helsinki region. The patient load has particularly risen in the hospital districts of Northern Ostrobothnia, including Oulu, and Pirkanmaa, which includes Tampere.

As of Wednesday there were 46 patients in ICUs.

13:30 Updated with details throughout.