In Stockholm, the number of covid patients has increased slightly

Johan Bratt, the chief physician for Region Stockholm, is unconcerned about the slight increase in the number of covid patients.

In Stockholm, 125 patients are being treated with covid-19, a tenfold increase from the previous week.

"We need to wait and see if this is just a one-time small increase or if it becomes a trend," says Johan Bratt, the region's chief medical officer.

The downward trend in the number of COVID-19 patients in Region Stockholm has been broken for the first time since mid-March. However, the situation is far better than it was last winter, when over 600 patients in the region were treated in hospitals for covid-19.

"It's not surprising that it varies slightly between days, and there's no evidence of infection spreading," says Johan Bratt.

The number of COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care units in critical condition is stable. Only two COVID-19 patients were treated in the ICU on Tuesday, compared to as many as a week ago. 90 COVID-19 patients are being treated in emergency rooms, while another 33 are being treated in outpatient geriatric settings.

Approximately half of COVID-19 hospital patients are being treated for virus symptoms, with the other half being treated for something else. However, even these require an infection-proof treatment, which necessitates additional resources.

"It still places a significant strain on hospitals and staff," said the chief medical officer, who had hoped that the number of COVID-19 patients would decline faster by the summer.

Simultaneously, he is confident that the region has not seen the increased spread of infection predicted by the Swedish Public Health Agency in its spring scenarios.

The prevalence of COVID-19 should be monitored. Following the elimination of general testing, the regions are looking at virus levels in wastewater, among other things, and these are relatively stable and low, according to Johan Bratt.

More than 570,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Region Stockholm since the outbreak began. Since the beginning of the year, there have been a total of 5,262 confirmed infections in the capital region, with 686 deaths reported.

The elderly are currently receiving the fourth Covid-19 vaccination dose. 59 percent of Stockholm residents aged 65 and up have received the COVID-19 vaccine. The corresponding figure for people aged 80 and up is slightly higher than 70%.