"We have been more affected during the second wave" - ​​asymptomatic staff in Ludvika were infected

- We did well during the first half of the year and the summer.

Since then, we have been more affected during the second wave, where we have had a number of units where patients have been infected, says Eva Björsland, head of administration for Ludvika's health and care administration.

"Reason to evaluate"

When SVT Nyheter now examines the excess mortality in the country's nursing homes, it turns out that the elderly have also been hit hard during the second wave.

Despite the lessons learned from last spring, the infection once again spread to the corridors of nursing homes around Sweden.

- There is of course reason to evaluate our work and examine yourself - it is important, says Eva Björsland.

One of the few municipalities that has not introduced rapid tests for staff

Ludvika is one of the few municipalities in Dalarna that has not yet started with rapid tests for staff in elderly care.

In the municipalities that introduced it, many infected staff have been discovered who had no symptoms and who were on their way to work.

Had Ludvika started with that system earlier, the head of care and nursing believes that certain infections could have been prevented.

- Yes, if you look at the results, there is certainly a spread of infection that could have been avoided, I think, she says.

"Not empowered"

According to Björsland, the reason for not getting started with the tests is that they worked a lot with infection tracking, which required a lot of logistics.

- This has meant that we have not been able to also introduce the rapid tests in the business, she says.

Do you see it as a failure now in retrospect that you have not introduced the quick tests before?

- No, I would not express it as a failure.

It's always easy to be hindsight in this, so no, I do not, says Eva Björsland.

Thousands dead

Now more than 10,000 have died with covid-19 in Sweden, almost half of these lived in special housing.

In Ludvika, 33 people died in covid-19 in 2020 according to figures from the National Board of Health and Welfare.

Of these, 61 per cent lived in special housing and 12 per cent had home care. 

The question is how the infection could get in during the autumn and how they are now working to protect the elderly in Ludvika - in the clip you hear Eva Björsland in Ludvika about how they now work with routines that will keep covid-19 away from the nursing homes.