The wealthy western Gothenburg districts where the crown is spread

The corona virus spreads rapidly in Gothenburg, but at the same time there are large local differences within the city. It follows from the so-called incidence, that is, how many cases have been reported per 10,000 inhabitants.

In the Västra Göteborg district administration, which consists mainly of well-to-do households and close to the world, the incidence was the highest in Gothenburg during week 45: 36 cases per 10,000 inhabitants.

Compared to the district administration of Västra Hisingen, where half the population lives in Biskopsgården, this figure is double.

“He takes the crown more seriously”

Mitra Afkhami and her husband Omid have temporarily left home to buy food at Vårväderstorget in Biskopsgården. They both wear mouth guards and are not surprised when GT talks about the difference in incidence between Västra Hisingen and Västra Göteborg.

They have just moved here from one of Gothenburg’s wealthiest areas, Hovås, and have noticed a clear visual difference in the behavior of the inhabitants of the two districts.

– There are many more here who have mouth guards. In Hovås we never saw anyone using it. Corona takes himself more seriously here, Mitra says, and Omid nods his head.

– We come from Iran and there is probably 90 percent mouth protection, you should have that in Sweden too. Save lives, Mitra continues.

Grace Etienne, who also lives in Biskopsgården, has also noticed that more people wear mouth guards here, compared to other parts of Gothenburg.

– You see many who have a mask here. I don’t know why this is so, he says.

However, that Västra Göteborg has the highest number of reported crown drops per capita comes as a surprise to those GT talks to in affluent Långedrag.

– It is true? It sounds very strange that the infection is greater here. Most people work from home and we’re not overcrowded here either, says Lena Cedergen, who goes out for a walk along the boardwalk.

There may be dark numbers

Spouses Lars and Elisabeth Haglind, who also live in Långedrag, think along the same lines.

– It’s amazing. People are not found. We basically stay at home. We meet children and grandchildren outside, but there will be no hugs, Lars says.

However, the number of confirmed infections is not the same as the actual number of infections. There is a high probability that a dark figure will appear, and in order to draw definitive conclusions about the differences between the different areas, it would be necessary to know what proportion of the inhabitants are testing themselves.

Here’s what Ingmar Skoog, a professor of psychiatry with a specialization in epidemiology at the University of Gothenburg, says.

– It is common for you to go to more health care if you belong to a higher socioeconomic group. People are more interested in managing their health compared to residents in areas with lower socioeconomic status. There you have, at least at the group level, instead, a higher degree of morbidity and lower survival. It applies to a variety of diseases and is fairly well established, he says, continuing:

– So you could imagine that there seems to be a greater spread in richer areas because there are more people testing there.

Immunity can affect

In Stockholm, the same pattern is observed as in Gothenburg: in affluent areas such as Östermalm and Danderyd, the incidence is highest, while Rinkeby-Kista and Spånga-Tensta are among the county areas with the lowest number of infections per capita .

Karin Tegmark Wisell is head of department at the Swedish Public Health Agency:

– We have noticed that, for example, Rinkeby-Kista had a large number of cases this spring. If that has meant taking it more seriously or if there are consequences of having some protection against the disease, that analysis is very difficult to do and must be done at the regional level.

The fact that more people seem to wear mouth guards in Biskopsgården, compared to other districts in Gothenburg, could be related to the media that follows. That is the opinion of Ingmar Skoog.

– If you follow the media in other countries, there are many reports about the positive effects of mouth guards. It’s not entirely impossible that this is the explanation, he says.

Teacher: many can die

POLL

Question:

Currently, the incidence is highest in Västra Göteborg and lowest in Västra Hisingen. What’s your opinion about it?