The alleged ban on visiting the country’s nursing homes is considered by several of the country’s municipalities to have played a certain but not decisive role in the fact that the infection has now re-emerged in many places, according to a survey carried out by Ekot.
Annika Backström is head of the office at the health and care administration in Sundsvall, where last week they had infected 5 homes for the elderly.
– The reports we have heard are that there may have been many who have visited relatives, some do not want to use a visor. We know that something or some cases can be linked to visits, but I do not want to claim that it is the main source of infection, says Annika Backström.
According to a survey that Ekot sent out to all of Sweden’s 290 municipalities and to which 220 responded, 93 municipalities had confirmed or suspected covid-19 at one or more of their nursing homes last week.
Several municipalities report problems with visitors who did not follow guidelines and that it may have contributed to the infection settling in. But in Borås, among other places, infected staff are seen as the main cause.
– It is often that it has been employees who have been at work and then you have fallen ill in the evening or at night and then you may have had time to infect another colleague or, in the worst case, residents, says Anna-Clara Ringnes who is operations manager for care. and care homes in the City of Borås.
Most of the municipalities state to Ekot that they have allowed visits but with different types of restrictions since 1 October. As the spread of infection has increased, municipality after municipality has also issued a strong recommendation against visits.
Several of them say that they think a dissuasion is enough, however, many municipalities welcome the fact that the possibility of a ban now exists.
– If we get a major outbreak and we need to shut down, I think it feels good that that opportunity exists, says Ulrika Bengtsson, head of special housing in Hässleholm.
Source: ICELAND NEWS
