Last week, Sörmland was in fourth place in the country in terms of reported cases of covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants.

And there has been a steady weekly increase in cases since a low in week 23, with the exception of a minor decline in week 27.

At that time, 45 cases were reported.

Last week the figure was 252, according to Mikael Stenhem, former

infection control doctor in Sörmland.

- You have to bear in mind that it is not tested in the same way as before - so those numbers are only the tip of the iceberg, he says.

Two explanations

During previous corona summers, there has been a tendency for the spread of infection to decrease as people, among other things, spent more time outdoors.

But this summer looks different.

Mikael Stenhem sees above all two explanations for the fact that the spread of infection is now instead increasing:

- We have new variants of covid-19 and even if you still have good protection against severe disease if you have been vaccinated, immunity wanes and you can get sick, without getting seriously ill.

And then you can infect others.

Take symptoms seriously

To avoid the spread of infection increasing further, Mikael Stenhem believes that symptoms compatible with covid-19 should be taken seriously.

- Stay at home and avoid infecting others.

Then, of course, it is important that those who have not already been vaccinated do so.

Partly to protect himself, but also to protect others, he says.

Difficult to predict the future

If the spread of infection in Sörmland will continue to increase during the late summer and autumn, Mikael Stenhem does not want to say.

- It is difficult to say anything about it, but it is clear that new variants of the virus can appear.

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CORONA: Hear the public health authority about the infection situation