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Several regions experience that the pressure on covid-19 sampling is greater than they can face. Approximately 190,000 people were sampled nationwide during week 44, according to the Public Health Agency. That’s roughly 25,000 more than the previous week.
– It is a huge increase compared to the last weeks, which overwhelms the laboratories both nationally and regionally. It can be seen that several regions are now at their ceiling capacity. In some places, waiting times have lengthened, says Emma Spak, head of the section for medical and health care in the Swedish municipalities and regions (SKR).
Emma Spak.
Photo: Jonas Ekströmer / TT
The Västra Götaland region is a from regions in distress. On Monday, they announced that sampling for the public will be temporarily reduced by 25 percent.
– Many want to prove themselves, and we are grateful for that. But the lab has reached full capacity, both regionally and externally, says Kristine Rygge, medical advisor, continuing:
– I don’t see it as a failure, but they have gone up incredibly. But so has the population. We have managed to call the public to test themselves. It is sad that we cannot cope with it and that the spread of the infection has increased faster than we thought.
She believes that the region will now, among other things, expand the capacity of the laboratory that they use and that they are looking for international suppliers.
Örebro County Region last announced On Thursday the ceiling was also temporarily reached there. It is above all the sampling of the public that has been affected.
– The number of tests has exceeded our analysis capacity. That’s why last week we slowed down the sampling chain. It must be sustainable over time, and we needed to point out that we couldn’t do it, says Martin Sundqvist, chief physician of the laboratory medicine clinic at Örebro University Hospital.
The region now has access to another external laboratory, and new hours were announced on Monday.
– In the long run, however, I don’t think it covers the need, which right now seems almost infinite. Therefore, we are discussing additional measures, such as more external laboratories. But it is not possible to gather more resources in the form of personnel and equipment, says Martin Sundqvist.
The Stockholm region stopped Home tests for the public for four days last week, because the line was too long. Now the region has introduced a daily quota on home tests. So far, it’s 5,000 a day, which will be expanded later this week when a new testing lab gets involved.
– On Thursday we will significantly increase capacity and expect to reach a weekly rate of 50,000 tests in total. We don’t know if that is enough. The pressure is enormous, the need is endless, and the demand is extremely fast, says Claes Ruth, functions manager of the Karolinska University Laboratory.
Other regions are experiencing great pressure on sampling for the general public, and times are running out at regular intervals. SKR’s Emma Spak says the regions, the lab and the Swedish Public Health Agency are working hard to expand capacity.
Read more:
Stockholm Labs Amid Historic Upgrading
Criticism of the slow home tests in Stockholm
Tracking infection slides back when covid drops
