- Now I really look forward to not only seeing more test stations, but both staff and users in healthcare and not least the elderly care, to take advantage of the increased test capacity, says Hallengren.

It is the municipalities and regions that will be responsible for testing, which can be done, for example, at drive-in stations, in homes or even as self-tests, says Hallengren, who wants to see 100,000 tests a week already done in mid-May.

"I know how many people are in the process of setting up different test stations, to make sure there is home sampling or drive-in solutions," she says.

Can return to work

A likely benefit of increased testing is that health care professionals who are now home with mild symptoms can return to work if it turns out they are not infected. This type of testing should also be possible for other staff in socially important functions, says Hallengren.

For just over a month, the Public Health Authority was commissioned to develop a national strategy for increased sampling, and the authority hoped that 100,000 people per week could be tested already before the end of April. However, the process has been slower than hoped; Last week, 24,000 people were tested in Sweden.

Many countries are ahead

Sweden is also far down the list among EU countries in terms of how many people have been tested as a percentage of the population. Only seven of 27 countries have tested fewer.

According to Lena Hallengren, this is related to the fact that it has taken a lot of time and effort to manage the pandemic.

- Let's remember that we have had this virus in the community for a couple of months, so a lot has happened in a very short time. Both upscaling of health care, of intensive care sites, of care sites. Very much has had to be different.

The target 100,000 tests a week is for tests for ongoing infection. Antibody tests that show if you have been infected are not yet safe enough at the individual level to be launched on a large scale.