Earlier in August, several people at the Kebnekaise mountain station suffered from severe stomach ailments.
To put an end to the misery, the Swedish Tourist Association, STF, chose to close the mountain station – but now it is open again.
– The routines we have and the measures we have put in place now have worked very well, says Maria Persson, mountain manager, STF.
“We need to stop the spread of infection at the mountain station and give the staff a chance to clean all areas properly and bring new dass to the area,” the mountain station first wrote on its Facebook page.
The day after the situation worsened further. More and more hikers had fallen ill at an increasingly rapid rate, and the mountain hut wrote a new update:
“We see a need to close the mountain station for a few days.”
The Kebnekaise mountain station and all the mountain huts along the northern Kungsleden were closed with immediate effect so that a thorough cleaning of the facilities could be carried out. And this week the stations could be reopened for walkers.
– The infection itself was a winter vomiting virus, we don’t really know how it got into the stations, says Maria Persson.
200 were evacuated
The cottages were fully occupied at the time of the outbreak, according to Persson. This meant that around 200 people were evacuated ahead of the extensive cleaning. When they have now started to open up again, she feels that their guests feel safe.
– We get a lot of appreciation from our guests who say they feel safe with us, she says.
Not all stations have yet reopened and a total opening of the cabins is delayed. Among other things when vomiting guests are still isolated at the station.
– The measures we put in place feel safe and good and we have planned to open the business as usual this Friday. So we will return to normal operations on Friday, she says.
But some changes have been introduced to reduce the risk of the vomiting chaos being repeated.
– We have adapted serving and reinforced hygiene routines and we will continue to have service hosts outside mountain stations who inform guests about hygiene routines, she says.
The range of bajamajors has also been strengthened and there are now as many as 14 for needy hikers to use, according to Persosn.