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GP was able to say yesterday that the coronavirus content in Gothenburg’s sewage is 60 times higher now compared to last spring’s peak.
– It has exploded and is very crazy – My stomach hurts when I think about how Christmas and the New Year can be, Heléne Norder, virologist and professor of microbiology at the Sahlgrenska Academy told GP yesterday.
Sahlgrenska Academy Professor Heléne Norder is concerned about the sharp increase so close to Christmas and New Years. Photo: Thomas Johansson
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Used in planning
Sahlgrenska University Hospital believes that the connection between a higher incidence of wastewater, a greater spread of infection and, in the next stage, a greater need for care is clear. The measurements are described as “an important parameter in our planning” by Per Albertsson, SU pandemic group coordinator.
The issue of sewage testing was raised at the Swedish Public Health Agency’s online press conference on Thursday. State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said at the time that it is not clear what the evidence about the status of contagion in society can actually convey.
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– It is a method that can be very interesting when you have validated it better. But we have no opportunity to translate those levels into the levels of society, Anders Tegnell said.
What do you think these tests can or cannot tell you?
– Obviously, they can tell if there is a spread of covid-19 in society. It can be interesting when you haven’t had a spread for a while and then you see that it is returning, if that signal comes before other signals. But we don’t know yet, he says.
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Although Anders Tegnell does not give much for the measurement method at present, he does not have a definitive opinion on the fact that Sahlgrenska uses the measurement results to plan how the company will function in the pandemic.
– I do not know. They may have better data locally than we’ve seen so far. It’s a question that can be asked, he says.
Measurements made during the fall show that the level of virus in the sewer began to rise during the first week of December. Last week (week 50) the level of the virus rose at a violent rate. The amount of virus at week 50 was 100 times higher compared to week 49.
READ MORE: Corona vaccination in Sweden can start on December 27
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