The no-go Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby-Kista has become the area most affected by coronavirus in the Swedish capital, relative to the population.
Figures released by the Stockholm region show that both Rinkeby-Kista and Spånga-Tensta have more cases of coronavirus per capita than any other area of the city with the former having 47 cases per 10,000 residents.
Physician Per Follin at Infection Protection Stockholm commented on the figures, telling broadcaster SVT: “Previously, we have reported an overrepresentation of the number of infected persons per 10,000 inhabitants, mainly in the districts of Spånga-Tensta and Rinkeby-Kista. Unfortunately, that seems to hold true.”
According to Dr Follin, there have been no special measures suggested so far for the so-called “vulnerable” areas, which boast high levels of migrant-background residents.
Previous reports from broadcaster Sveriges Radio had revealed that the Somali community in Stockholm had been particularly affected by coronavirus, with speculation that language differences may have contributed to a higher confirmed infection rate.
On March 25th, the broadcaster reported that six of the-then 15 confirmed coronavirus deaths were members of the Somali community.
Since then, Sweden has seen a surge in the number of coronavirus deaths across the country, with Stockholm being the most heavily affected area.
On Wednesday, Swedish authorities reported an increase of 77 new deaths for a total of nearly 700 fatal cases of the Chinese virus, almost half of which have occurred in Stockholm.
Sweden has been one of the few countries in Europe not to enact strict lockdown measures to stop the spread of the virus, partly due to the limitations in what the government can do under current Swedish law.
This week, Sweden has paved the way for a much stricter general lockdown despite concerns from opposition parties in the parliament.