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Three municipalities stand out in the statistics on the number of deaths during the current corona pandemic.
At the top is Karlstad, where fewer than usual died in 2020.
– I’m not totally surprised, says Ingemar Hallén, director of operations and infection control doctor in the Värmland region.
The spread of covid-19 is increasing throughout Sweden and half of all regions are now working in personal mode, which Aftonbladet recently wrote about.
Last week, 20 out of 21 counties reported that the spread of the infection is increasing, as is the pressure on medical care as more and more corona-infected patients are admitted to the nation’s hospitals.
Higher than average
That 2020 has been a bleak year is probably something many people sign off on.
In some of the hardest-hit municipalities, Stockholm, Södertälje, Botkyrka and Haninge, the number of deaths between January and October this year was between 10 and 20 percent higher than the average for the previous five years, according to statistics from Statistics Sweden (SCB).
However, there are municipalities where mortality has been significantly lower.
Among the 25 largest municipalities in the country, three stand out in particular: Karlstad, Lund and Malmö. Fewer people have died there in 2020 than at the same time in the last five years.
Photo: Tommy Pedersen / TT
Ingemar Hallén, director of operations and infection control physician in the Värmland region.
“Crouched part of the top”
This is due, among other things, to the fact that the municipalities managed to some extent avoid the peak of mortality that occurred during the spring.
– Karlstad dodged part of that peak in May, while Lund and Malmö completely dodged it in April. As a result, these municipalities did not completely escape the pandemic during the spring, but they also did not reach the maximum levels seen, for example, in Stockholm, says Tomas Johansson, population statistician at Statistics Sweden, and continues:
– A large part of the mortality in Karlstad and Lund is related to September and October, while there have been a few more deaths in Malmö during the same period.
Photo: Fredrik Sandberg / TT
Karlstad.
At the same time, increased infection control measures have helped reduce other illnesses, such as seasonal flu and winter vomiting.
“Not at all surprised”
Ingemar Hallén is Operations Manager and Infection Control Doctor in the Värmland region.
He is not at all surprised by the result, so Värmland has generally had a relatively low spread of the infection, both during spring, summer and so far during fall, according to him.
– However, the number of cases has increased considerably in the last month here as well. Until week 44, Karlstad has had a medium spread of the infection from our perspective. But the number of cases in municipal health and care in the county during that time has been very small, which I think is because the general spread of the infection has not been that great and we have done a good job in health and care along with infection control.
Disappeared quickly
When asked what led to the success of the death toll, Ingemar Hallén notes that it is difficult to know for sure:
– But I think active infection tracing work combined with isolation from home and close contacts during the onset of the pandemic in March helped keep us from getting such a large spread. When various tips and recommendations from the Swedish Public Health Agency were implemented, the initial situation was relatively good here and it was clear that the flu cases disappeared quickly. So clearly it was a temporary relationship and probably a causal relationship.
– Another success factor, I think, is that we are a relatively small region with good networks and cooperation between us.
What will work be like in the future to reduce the death toll?
– It is still a matter of maintaining the spread of the infection in society and, above all, of preventing it from occurring among the elderly and in municipal health and care. In addition, the identification of cases has improved and so has the treatment of severe covid-19, which should contribute to a lower mortality rate.
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