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Tuesday, September 08, 2020
Willingness instead of lockdown: The Swedish special route in the corona pandemic has long been causing skepticism. But now authorities are announcing a breakthrough: the rate of confirmed infections is at an all-time low, while other European countries are shaking before the second wave.
Sweden reports a success in the stage to deal with the corona pandemic: the positive test rate has dropped to the lowest level since the virus outbreak. Last week, the tests increased to a record of more than 120,000, according to official information. Only 1.3 percent were positive. In the spring, the level had been around 19 percent for weeks. According to some experts, the national strategy, which has meanwhile reduced the risk of infection, is paying off.
Sweden is running its own course in the Crown crisis, which is also under close scrutiny abroad and sometimes draws strong criticism. The government has opposed the blockade and instead relies on the individual responsibility of citizens, as well as rules of distance and good hygiene behavior. The idea behind this is to focus on slowing down the spread of the virus, as the pathogen cannot be eradicated anyway. So far, more than 5,800 people who have tested positive for coronavirus have died in Sweden. The per capita death rate is therefore significantly higher than in other northern European countries. At the same time, however, it is lower than in Italy, Spain and Great Britain, where there were blockades.
Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) have praised the Swedish model as sustainable. The head of the Swedish health authority, Johan Carlson, said that the national guidelines are easy to understand and intended for a longer period of time. The population has now internalized them. The country now has the lowest spread rate in Scandinavia. In Spain and France, positive tests are picking up again after lockdown measures ended.
“Our strategy was consistent and sustainable. We probably have a lower risk of spread than other countries,” said Professor of Epidemiology Jonas Ludvigsson of the Karolinska Institutet. According to him, Sweden is now likely to have higher immunity among the population than most other countries. “I think we are benefiting a lot now,” Ludvigsson said.
