HELSINKI, May 15. /TASS/. The number of coronavirus cases in Finland has risen to 6,228 after a single day increase of 83 infections, the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare said Friday.

On Thursday, 6,145 infections were reported. The latest data points to 287 fatalities. Moreover, the official agencies register around 5,000 recoveries from the virus. Specialists currently assess that the reproduction value of the virus in Finland stands below one.

Finland shut down its borders between March 19 and May 13 due to the coronavirus developments. Moreover, the authorities restricted movement between the capital region of Uusimaa and the rest of the country to curb the spread between March 28 and April 15.

On May 14, the Schengen Area reopened borders for working and urgent trips, while classes in Finnish schools and preschools resumed operation.

The ban on public gatherings of over 10 people will stay in place until the end of May, however, this number will be increased to 50 on June 1. Moreover, major public events of over 500 people will stay banned until the end of July. In addition, theaters, museums, libraries and restaurants will gradually welcome clients back starting with June, while sporting events will also be cleared to go ahead. Distance learning is expected to stay in place until the end of this academic year.

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in every corner of the globe.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 4,543,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 303,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 1,712,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

To date, a total of 262,843 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 58,226 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 2,418 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.