Swedish municipality rolls out local restrictions to fight Covid outbreak
Strömstad, a Swedish town close to the Norwegian border, is fighting an increase in the spread of coronavirus.
Strömstad saw its number of new coronavirus infections double last week compared to the week before – despite the fact that the spread appears to be slowly subsiding in the rest of the Västra Götaland region.
The municipality's lower secondary schools (for 13-15-year-olds) will now return to online classes, sports and leisure centres will close and the municipality has asked for permission to reintroduce a ban on visits to care homes for elderly people.
Infectious disease doctor Leif Dotevall told the TT newswire that he did not believe the virus variant first discovered in the UK (and which has also been found in Norway, as well as in Sweden) was behind the increased spread in Strömstad, because no cases of the new variant had been found in randomised testing in the municipality.
Various border closures and quarantine requirements in the two countries in the past year have meant that there has been less commuting across the border than normal.
Dotevall instead argued that Strömstad had previously had a low spread of coronavirus, so had possibly built up less immunity in the population compared to other towns in the region.
Comments
See Also
Strömstad saw its number of new coronavirus infections double last week compared to the week before – despite the fact that the spread appears to be slowly subsiding in the rest of the Västra Götaland region.
The municipality's lower secondary schools (for 13-15-year-olds) will now return to online classes, sports and leisure centres will close and the municipality has asked for permission to reintroduce a ban on visits to care homes for elderly people.
Infectious disease doctor Leif Dotevall told the TT newswire that he did not believe the virus variant first discovered in the UK (and which has also been found in Norway, as well as in Sweden) was behind the increased spread in Strömstad, because no cases of the new variant had been found in randomised testing in the municipality.
Various border closures and quarantine requirements in the two countries in the past year have meant that there has been less commuting across the border than normal.
Dotevall instead argued that Strömstad had previously had a low spread of coronavirus, so had possibly built up less immunity in the population compared to other towns in the region.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.