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NEWS
Covida infection is increasing among young people under 20 years of age.
Virologist Niklas Arnberg is concerned:
– There is a risk that more young people suffer from covid in the long term now, he says.
The weekly report from the Swedish Public Health Agency shows that one in five people with a confirmed infection during week ten (19 percent) was between 0 and 19 years old.
The number of cases in the age group 0 to 9 years increased by 16 percent, and in the age group 10 to 19 years by 5 percent, compared to the previous week.
A total of 744,272 cases of coronary heart disease have been diagnosed in Sweden since the start of the corona pandemic, of which 96,115 among people under 20 years of age, corresponding to 13 percent.
Photo: Swedish Public Health Agency
The increase in infection in the 5- to 19-year-old age groups is evident in recent weeks, according to the weekly report from the Swedish Public Health Agency.
Niklas Arnberg, a virologist at Umeå University, says:
– During the fall, winter and slightly into spring, we see that the relative proportion of young people and children among those infected is increasing.
Are more young people infected today than a year ago?
– I think so, but since we didn’t test young people then, we don’t know for sure.
How serious is it?
– We have a lot of infection among the youngest and they can spread the infection to adults, who, for example, work in the care of the elderly. So there is a risk that the infection will be transmitted to the nursing homes, it is something unpleasant. Fortunately, we have now been vaccinated through many older people. But young people can also get COVID in the long term, which is a growing problem. There is a risk that more young people will have long-term covid now.
Photograph: Alexandra Bengtsson / SvD / TT
Virologist Niklas Arnberg is concerned about the increase in covid falls among young people.
Consider closing schools
Neither Arnberg nor anyone else knows exactly how many young people in the country have received long-term covid, but as of mid-February, 214 children had been diagnosed with long-term covid in the Stockholm region, SVT reported at the time.
The growing spread of the infection among young people also centers on the question of whether Sweden’s hitherto open primary schools should now close. Niklas Arnberg says:
– This is the very important question you ask yourself. If you in a community or region have a large spread of the infection, then I think you should consider closing schools for a short time. But you should probably be very careful when sweeping across the country. It has such negative consequences for young people that they really need to be in school. It’s important to have a good fingertip feel on this, says Niklas Arnberg.
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