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On October 23, employees of the cardiac intensive care unit of Växjö Central Hospital organized a Halloween party, three days after the Swedish hospital region of Kronoberg went into emergency mode.
According to P4 Kronoberg, the hospital region helped fund the party, which was later called “work environment activity.”
In the days that followed, however, several employees who participated would test positive for the coronavirus, and the party would be a possible scene of an outbreak at the hospital.
Eleven employees and ten patients fell ill. The deaths of four patients are now linked to the festivities, while the hospital’s director, Maria Wiltz, emphasizes that they cannot say with certainty that the holiday is the cause.
On October 20, the hospital region warned of increasing infections in the area. Business manager Thomas Aronsson previously acknowledged to P4 Kronoberg that the party contributed to the spread of the infection.
– I would have hit the brakes if I had known, Aronsson said of the party.
On Thursday, Sweden set a new infection record with 7,935 new cases verified in one day. The spread of the infection in Sweden is supposed to be higher this spring, but the testing capacity was lower and fewer were able to detect the infection.
So far, 312,728 Swedes have tested positive for COVID-19, and 7,354 corona-related deaths have been recorded in Sweden. This corresponds to 73 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, while Norway has seven by comparison. The world average is 20.
Among the worst in Europe
– It is a very serious situation with a high number of cases in the country, said the head of the department Karin Tegmark Wisell of the Public Health Authority in a comment about the new infection registry.
In Stockholm, hospitals are reporting an explosion of capacity in intensive care units, and the health service in more and more Swedish municipalities is now struggling a lot.
– It is a serious situation and there is a significant spread of the infection in several municipalities. There is a large understaffing and it is a great challenge for municipalities to run their businesses, said Public Health Councilor Iréne Nilsson-Carlsson at the National Board of Health and Welfare.
