STOCKHOLM. Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Two more cases of COVID-19 infection were confirmed in Sweden on Saturday as health authorities announced they would roll out home testing to diagnose suspected virus carriers.
After first denying reports from Sweden's Public Health Agency that one more person had been found infected with COVID-19 in Gothenburg, the Vastra Gotaland Region in western Sweden confirmed that an individual who had travelled from Iran to Gothenburg was diagnosed with the virus.
Another case was confirmed in Stockholm later on Saturday, bringing the total number in the capital to four and the total national number to 13. Apart from in the capital, cases have been confirmed in western Sweden, in the university town of Uppsala in central Sweden, and in Jonkoping in the south.
Also on Saturday, Region Stockholm, which is responsible for all publicly financed healthcare in the capital, announced it would introduce home testing for people suspected of carrying the novel coronavirus. Should an infection doctor deem it suitable, specially trained medical staff will be sent by ambulance to test individuals at their home. The medical staff will wear protective clothing.
The method is "a way of increasing access to testing," Patrik Soderberg, chief physician in Region Stockholm, said in a press release. "It means the individual does not need to be transported to a hospital and be isolated there while waiting for test results but can instead stay at home."
A person who has been tested at home will be notified by phone of the result and, should it come out positive, the individual will then be transported to an infection clinic and put in isolation. The method has already been tried in the UK and is suitable for individuals who have shown only mild symptoms that do not require hospital treatment.
