Covid-19 cases in intensive care are rising again in Sweden
In just under three weeks, the number of Covid-19 patients receiving intensive care treatment in Sweden has doubled.
The number of people in intensive care units for the virus reached a peak in Sweden during in April, with 558 patients on the 25th and 26th of the month.
Since then, the total has been steadily decreasing and fell to only 12 on September 11th.
But since, the number of people with the coronavirus in intensive care has slowly risen again, reaching 24 on October 1st according to the Swedish Intensive Care Register.
It comes as Swedish authorities are warning of a rise in the number of cases after a long lull during summer. This rise and fears of a second wave have prompted the government to push back plans to raise the limit of attendees at seated events, and the Public Health Agency to introduce new stricter rules for family members of people with Covid-19.
At Tuesday's press conference, Sweden's chief medical officer said it was hard to draw conclusions from the recent rise in intensive care figures however.
"These are such low numbers that it is hard to say if it's a break in the trend or a temporary jump," said the National Board of Health and Welfare's Thomas Lindén.
State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said: "Some people are in intensive care for a long time, while others are only there for a short time, so I wouldn't call this a break in the trend, although it is absolutely an important signal to keep an eye on."
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The number of people in intensive care units for the virus reached a peak in Sweden during in April, with 558 patients on the 25th and 26th of the month.
Since then, the total has been steadily decreasing and fell to only 12 on September 11th.
But since, the number of people with the coronavirus in intensive care has slowly risen again, reaching 24 on October 1st according to the Swedish Intensive Care Register.
It comes as Swedish authorities are warning of a rise in the number of cases after a long lull during summer. This rise and fears of a second wave have prompted the government to push back plans to raise the limit of attendees at seated events, and the Public Health Agency to introduce new stricter rules for family members of people with Covid-19.
At Tuesday's press conference, Sweden's chief medical officer said it was hard to draw conclusions from the recent rise in intensive care figures however.
"These are such low numbers that it is hard to say if it's a break in the trend or a temporary jump," said the National Board of Health and Welfare's Thomas Lindén.
State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said: "Some people are in intensive care for a long time, while others are only there for a short time, so I wouldn't call this a break in the trend, although it is absolutely an important signal to keep an eye on."
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