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Of: TT
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Photo: ADAM IHSE / TT
During Christmas and New Years, the Stockholm Region and the Skåne Region will reduce their testing capacity.
Never before have so many Stockholmers been crowned as last week, but when the pressure is at its highest, the testing capacity is reduced during Christmas and New Years.
Also in Skåne and Gävleborg, the testing capacity is reduced during the main holidays.
– Even though we did 65,800 PCR tests, and that is by far the most in a single week, we did not reach the ceiling. We have a capacity for 75,000 tests, says Claes Ruth, director of the Karolinska University Laboratory and responsible for covid-19 sampling in the Stockholm Region.
He is proud that the region has set a record for the number of PCR tests performed for covid-19 this week. That is more than 10,000 more than the previous week.
About 17 percent of those examined during the week were infected, a decrease from the previous week, when the proportion infected was 20 percent.
Planned reduction
– It can be dangerous to draw conclusions based on an individual week, but it can be expected to be a positive trend break, he says.
During the week of Christmas and New Years, a reduction of the testing capacity is planned to 50,000-55,000.
– We hope it is enough, because we believe that the demand will decrease during the red days, says Claes Ruth.
The Skåne region is also reducing opportunities to test for COVID-19 during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The reason is that it is understaffed.
– We would have liked to offer even more testability even these days, but unfortunately it is not possible, says Mattias Waldeck, assistant doctor for infection control in Skåne, on Swedish radio P4 Malmöhus.
Highest level
The reduction takes place at the same time that the number of patients admitted with covid-19 established is at the highest level to date in the Skåne Region, depending on the situation in the region.
Mattias Waldeck emphasizes that it is now extremely important for all Scanians to take personal responsibility and not expose themselves to infection, as care is a heavy burden.
Also in the Gävleborg region, test capacity during weekends will be slightly lower than normal weeks, but given that there is some excess capacity, the region estimates that it will be able to meet demand.
In Västra Götaland, testing capacity is only reduced by the opening hours of health centers during the holidays.
Claes Ruth, who is responsible for covid-19 sampling in the Stockholm region, says that testing capacity will gradually increase during January and February. The goal is to hit 100,000 tests per week during January and then increase further in February if all goes according to plan.
– Our goal is to meet the demand and assignments we receive, so that testability never becomes a limitation. What may become a limitation in the future is the availability of consumables such as plastic pipettes and reagents. It consumes incredible amounts when so many tests are done at the same time around the world
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