Testing of sick children, together with the increased spread of common respiratory infections, has made the pressure on sampling in many parts of the country very strong.
In the case of children, the recommendation is that the test should be performed by health care professionals.
Long waiting times mean that infection tracing does not work, as the virus can simply disappear from the body before the test is performed.
And this means that infection tracking does not work as intended.
- For infection detection, this means that you can not find infection chains as quickly, says Karin Tegmark Wisell at the Swedish Public Health Agency.
She emphasizes the importance of continuing to stay at home if you have symptoms that may be due to covid-19.
-You can still break the infection, even if you have not yet been tested.
The regions decide
Even though the Swedish Public Health Agency has issued a national recommendation, it is the different regions that decide for themselves who can be tested.
It is largely a matter of how much lab capacity there is access to.
Something that is constantly being expanded, says Karin Tegmark Wisell.
-The goal is that the recommendation can be followed throughout the country.
Test children
Very few children are affected by covid-19.
Nevertheless, the national recommendation is that all school children with symptoms should be tested.
The reason is that children should be able to return to school earlier if it can be ruled out that they are infected with covid-19.
- This spring we had zero tolerance, and many children were at home for a very long time.