- We have had a major dropout. It is very difficult to say what it is due to, many people were very ill, says Maria Staffas, who is the unit manager at the elderly residence Kungsljuset in Borlänge.

The housing is one of the elderly housing in Sweden that has had the highest death toll during some of the worst corona weeks, shows SVT's survey. Eighteen people who were registered on Kungsljuset died during a ten-week period this spring, compared to an average of one person during the corresponding period in 2017-2019.

According to Maria Staffas, it is difficult to say how many people have died from covid-19 since not all have been tested.

- At present we have no infection here in the house, either among staff or residents. We have been incredibly careful with basic hygiene practices, the staff have been home when they have been sick and those who have been poor here have been isolated. In this way, there was a stop to the end, now we have no infection, says Maria Staffas.

Doubling excess mortality

SVT has identified around 40 elderly homes around the country that stand out and where the death rate has more than doubled during week 10 to week 19. The majority of the homes are in the Stockholm area - but the accommodation is also in cities such as Borlänge, Gothenburg, Gävle and Linköping.

We have been in contact with a number of these residents to try and get a picture of what may be the underlying causes of the spring deaths.

Most people state that they do not know how the infection came in. But a recurring thought is that there was confusion at first about what symptoms would characterize covid-19 and that many may therefore have worked sick. Another reason that several people mention is that neither staff nor residents have been tested for covid-19, which means that you could not know who was carrying the infection.

Want national discussion

Another accommodation that, according to our survey, has had high mortality is Forellplan in Gävle. The corona virus is part of the explanation, according to Magnus Höijer, who is the sector manager at Välfärd Gävle.

- We have introduced a ban on visits and worked extensively with our managers and employees, then I believe and expect a national discussion going forward about the conditions of the elderly care. We need to learn from this in many ways, says Magnus Höijer.