The professor of mass tests: "Can't test everyone who wants to"

It was during a press conference at Rosenbad that Social Minister Lena Hallengren (S) announced that the state should fund broader corona testing.

- Symptoms and need for infection detection are what should be indicative. The state undertakes to pay for all testing of active infection, so testing is free of charge for the individual. The regions can test widely. Today, I can promise that the regions will receive compensation from the state for this, Hallengren said.

But several regions are now flagging that they are far from ready to begin mass testing by the public. In many cases it is a staff shortage - as in Örebro where everyone with symptoms will probably not be able to be tested for a long time.

- The outpatient care is not sufficiently staffed. The problem is that we have taken staff from the care center to the covid care. There we are very vulnerable, explains Lena Adolfsson, assistant infection protection physician in Örebro county.

An earlobe who waited a long time for a corona test is Mats Brunhof in Kumla. For thirteen weeks he has had symptoms without being able to test.

His wife Lena-Maria Brunhoff says that there have been many calls to the care, but that it does not yet seem to be relevant with sampling for Mats.

- The answer was, we have no tests for someone who is not so ill that they need hospital care, says Lena-Maria Brunhoff in Rapport.

Tomas Bergström, professor of clinical microbiology, says it is currently impossible to test anyone with symptoms.

- It is mainly the government that has put money into mass testing. Then all units may gradually build up capacity. You can't just open the dust hatches and test everyone who wants to, it's impossible.