The corona infection has once again taken off in the country's nursing homes.
Last week, 556 new cases of covid-19 were reported from nursing homes in Sweden.
This is an increase of almost 30 percent compared to the week before.
At the same time, the national restraining order on nursing homes was lifted on 1 October.
Olivia Wigzell, Director General of the National Board of Health and Welfare, calls the current situation a serious development.
And many of the problems that were alerted during the spring, such as temporary employees and the difficulty for hourly employees to be able to be away, remain.
- A serious problem that we see in our status reports from the municipalities is that sick leave is high and when it is high, it makes it more difficult to organize care, says Olivia Wigzell.
Other possibilities for Christmas
Analyzes have been made of what the reasons may have been for the infection to spread and continue to spread, says Olivia Wigzell.
- It shows a lot that the visitors may not have spread the infection.
Analyzes show that it came in partly with residents but also with staff who are in a surrounding community.
That is why it is important to be able to detect infected staff but also to have a vigilance and the opportunity to be at home when you have symptoms, says Olivia Wigzell.
Christmas is soon approaching and many want to be able to meet their loved ones, but Olivia Wigzell says that other possibilities for meetings should be prioritized.
- When you visit, also think about your responsibility and to pay attention to the slightest symptoms and maintain good hand hygiene.
That the person visiting has some form of protective equipment or visor and keep their distance as far as possible.
That is the most important thing, says Olivia Wigzell.