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The party, which took place outside the hospital facilities, had 28 participants: a barbecue buffet and table margarine were served. Plastic glass was also bought. The event cost the region just over SEK 4,500.
The previous days, the Kronoberg region had risen in personal mode, due to a tense care situation, linked to the increase in cases of covid-19.
At the same time, the responsible department head considered that the party could be held. It was a large room, where staff could barely sit and there was access to rubbing alcohol.
– An assessment was made that it would be safe. Today seems crazy, but then (before the spread of the infection increased) we did not have that point of view, says Thomas Aronsson, operations manager of the medical clinic.
Unknown infection
No one at the party had symptoms, according to Thomas Aronsson. But what the partygoers didn’t know was that the coronavirus was already in their neighborhood.
– We had brought in a patient carrying the infection without the staff knowing.
A few days after the party, people got sick. A total of eleven people in the room were confirmed to be ill with the coronavirus, but not all were at the party.
Along the same lines as the Halloween party, other internal trainings were also carried out, with a similar scenario: that the staff fell ill later. Therefore, several episodes may have contributed to the spread of the infection.
Consequences
According to information from P4 Kronoberg, who was the first to tell of the incident, “the infection spread to patients” after the party. But operations manager Thomas Aronsson says no such conclusions can be drawn at present.
– Currently we do not know that any patient has been infected as a direct result of the party. But infection tracking is ongoing.
The consequences for the ward were a situation of tension in the staff and the withdrawal of three places of care for a week. But at the same time, they could use the care places in other rooms, which means that the business has been going.
The attention around the party has also affected the work environment.
– Employees work very hard and do a fantastic job, now they have terrible feelings of guilt and are humiliated on social media. It hurts a lot, says Thomas Aronsson.
