During the last week, 9,766 cases of covid-19 were reported, an increase of 45 percent from the week before.

At the same time, the number of RS virus cases also increased by 926, which was 64 percent higher than the week before.

- We have not seen that all of these increase at the same time in previous seasons, says Anders Lindblom, state epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency.

According to him, it is not only unusual that the spread of these diseases increases at the same time.

- We also don't usually see two years in a row of such a high spread of the RS virus, but when we look at the statistics, it's basically the same as last year, he says.

Hospitals strained

In Region Stockholm, planned care is cancelled:

- It's tough.

These three infectious diseases put a heavy burden on the healthcare system, says Johan Bratt, chief physician for Region Stockholm.

SVT has contacted several hospitals spread across the country who all describe the same situation.

"At Sahlgrenska University Hospital, the situation is strained, with an increasing influx of patients with both covid-19 and other respiratory infections," writes chief physician Per-Olof Hansson in an email to SVT Nyheter.

At Karolinska in Stockholm, the combination of viral diseases is described as burdening the hospital, especially certain parts of the care.

"It is the toughest in the pediatric intensive care unit right now.

There, we have seen a very strong increase in patients as a result of above all the RS virus," writes chief physician Tomas Movin, in an email to SVT Nyheter.

Skåne and Norrland's university hospitals also state that they are noticing the increased pressure on care, and on December 8, the University Hospital in Uppsala went into staff mode due to the high workload.

- The combination of all these diseases means that the situation is very strained and we have decided to continue in staff mode next week as well, says chief physician Johan Lugnegård.

Peak not reached    

The latest figures from the Public Health Agency show that the increase in covid cases looks set to continue this week as well.

And according to Anders Lindblom, the peak is not yet in sight, at least not when it comes to covid-19. 

- For both covid-19 and influenza, I think it will continue to increase for some time to come.

But for the RS virus, we can probably reach the top soon.

If you compare with Denmark, which is a few weeks ahead of us, you can see that the spread is starting to decrease there now, he says.