[ad_1]
The Swedish special form is discussed over and over again. Now the crown numbers are increasing dramatically again in some regions. The state epidemiologist Tegnell wants to continue his path and swears to the population that they will go through difficult times.
If you recently made a detour to Stockholm, you will have felt as if you were in another world: the entire ride on Tunnelbana, the subway of the Swedish capital, looks like from a time before the Crown, hardly anyone wears masks. Signs and stickers are only used to indicate that you should stay away from your fellow travelers. Also on the Drottninggatan shopping street, life looks almost like 2019. This shows that Sweden is staying true to its special path in the fight against coronavirus even in autumn.
But the Scandinavian EU country with the widely discussed Corona strategy is not being guided by the growing number of infections, nor is Germany and the rest of Europe. On Thursday, 3,254 new infections were added to the Folkhälsomyndigheten health authority’s database, more than ever since the pandemic started in 24 hours. It wasn’t until Wednesday that the daily value rose above 2,000 for the first time, and last week the number of new registered corona cases soared 70 percent compared to the previous week.
Big events are also banned in Sweden
“It may seem that we have more cases than in spring. But that is not true,” emphasized on Thursday the state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, for many the face of the Sonderweg, in one of his countless press conferences on the situation of the crown. The spread in the population was many times greater at that time, but at that time they did not have the same testing capabilities that they have today. However, Tegnell said the situation in Sweden was getting worse. On Tuesday he had already made it clear: “It is a difficult fall, and it will be even more difficult before this is over.”
Swedish state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell: Sweden does not fight for herd immunity, Tegnell emphasizes over and over again. (Source: TT / imago images)
In Germany, opinion has established that the Swedes could continue to do whatever they wanted despite the pandemic. That is not right. Corona measures have also been taken in Sweden, including warnings to maintain a safe distance, large events and gatherings with more than 50 participants are prohibited. Visits to nursing homes were banned for months until early October. Herd immunity, which is scientifically highly controversial, was never a declared goal of the health authorities, as Tegnell had stressed several times.
The government works with appeals to the common sense of citizens
What is true: Corona’s measures were much more revealing than in most other countries. Stores, restaurants and schools remained open at all times, even a week ago a recommendation to people over 70 to avoid contact was withdrawn. In general, efforts were not made to contain the coronavirus with strict bans, but with recommendations, advice and appeals to common sense.
The majority of Swedes followed and continue to do so, many of them, for example, as recommended by the authorities, have long since moved to the central office. But not everyone answered the calls, as recently demonstrated, for example, in images of crowds at a trendy nightclub in Stockholm. “Going to closed parties that run the risk of increasing the spread of infections: no, that’s not wise,” Prime Minister Stefan Löfven told Aftonbladet.
Sonderweg is associated with high mortality rates
The special route has been associated with a high number of infections and deaths for Swedes compared to Germany and the rest of Scandinavia. To date, there have been more than 121,000 infections and more than 5,900 deaths related to Covid disease in the country, estimated at up to 100,000 inhabitants, which is twice the infection rate and almost five times higher than in Germany. Tegnell particularly lamented the high number of Covid deaths in nursing homes. En route to summer, crown numbers only decreased significantly a few weeks later than elsewhere.
Now it seems better for the Swedes, despite the worsening situation: with new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days, their country is slightly below the values of Germany and Denmark. Currently, only a few countries in Europe can show lower numbers, including Nordic neighbors Norway and Finland.
Skåne province calls for contact restrictions
However, the alarm bells are also ringing in Sweden: the number of infections is increasing, especially in the region around the student town of Uppsala north of Stockholm and in Skåne in southern Sweden, and worrying signals are also coming from Stockholm itself and the Västra Götaland regions around Gothenburg and Östergötland. “Overall, we are in a very different situation than we had just a week ago. And that is a serious situation,” Skåne’s chief infection control officer Eva Melander said Tuesday.
This now has consequences: in Skåne, people are provisionally encouraged until 17 November to avoid contact with people from other households, as well as public transport and social events such as football matches and other sports. The same has happened for a week in Uppsala, on Thursday the measures were extended to the region of the capital Stockholm, Västra Götaland and Östergötland. This is all “allmänna råd”, general advice: people are reluctant to ban in Sweden.
