Sweden ends large-scale Covid testing

Stockholm, February 9

Sweden has halted wide-scale testing for Covid even among people showing symptoms, putting an end to the mobile city-square tent sites, drive-in swab centres and home-delivered tests that became ubiquitous during the pandemic and provided essential data for tracking its spread.

The move puts the Scandinavian nation at odds with most of Europe, but some experts say it could become the norm as costly testing yields fewer benefits with the easily transmissible but milder Omicron variant and as governments begin to consider treating Covid like they do other endemic illnesses.

“We have reached a point where the cost and relevance of the testing is no longer justifiable,” Swedish Public Health Agency chief Karin Tegmark Wisell said.

“If we were to have extensive testing adapted to everyone who has Covid, that would mean half a billion kronor a week (about $55 million) and 2 billion a month ($220 million),” Wisell said. Starting Wednesday, only health care and elderly care workers and the most vulnerable will be entitled to free PCR testing. — AP