Västmanland in the top of the test - so many corona tests the county residents have taken

Västmanlanders are in fourth place in the country in terms of who tested the most for covid-19.

It shows data that SVT local news and Assignment review has compiled.

By December 2021, the county residents had tested 175,503 times per 100,000 inhabitants.

This corresponds to 1.75 PCR tests per inhabitant.

One reason why sampling has been extensive in the county was that those responsible for infection control in Västmanland early on chose to sample to a greater extent than what the Swedish Public Health Agency recommended.

Tested asymptomatic contacts

- We suspected early in the autumn that infection could occur asymptomatically, says Jan Smedjegård, former infection control doctor in Västmanland.

Infection control in the Västmanland Region began testing asymptomatic contacts in school classes and sports teams as early as the autumn of 2020. Only in March / April 2021 did the Swedish Public Health Agency begin to recommend tracing asymptomatic close contacts and children.

In the clip, the then infection control doctor Jan Smedjegård tells why they coronated school classes and sports teams.