- The regions need to adapt the testing to the spread of the infection locally, you need to adapt it to the situation in the region. If you have a very large spread of infection, you may need to prioritize the capacity of those parts of the population where testing is needed most, says Emma Spak, who is responsible for Health and Medical at SKR, Sweden's Municipalities and Regions.

Increased testing - but not everywhere

In Sweden, testing has been a hot and debated issue, where it has often been pointed out how it has worked in other countries. Testing operations have now increased sharply in our country, but the latest statistics continue to show that Sweden is far behind our nearest neighbor countries in terms of how much of the population has so far been tested for covid-19.

In a survey SVT News made based on the information given to the public at 1177.se, you can see that not all regions offer virus testing free for everyone. In some regions, you are told that a test can be done if a doctor or health center approves it, but in others it is clear that certain groups, for example with socially important work, are given priority.

The government has made an agreement with the regions where the ambition is that everyone with perceived symptoms should be allowed to do a virus test, but most of the regions have not yet arrived.

Stockholm first

The agreement also states a stated ambition that the public should be offered free antibody tests, with the opportunity to charge a fee of SEK 200.

Today, only Stockholm region and Uppsala region offer antibody tests. In Stockholm it is free, in Uppsala you have to pay 200 SEK.

- The antibody testing is aimed at finding the infection passed through, but most regions now prioritize the part of the test that gives the best effect to reduce the spread of infection. Then it is an extended virus testing that finds ongoing infection that is most effective. It can be used as a basis for infection detection where you can also find others who have covid-19, says Emma Spak.