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In the annual end-of-the-year interview on Swedish television SVTThe King of Sweden Carlos XVI Gustavo spoke about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, harshly criticizing the approach taken by the government to counter the spread of the virus, different from that of all other countries in Europe.
“I think we have failed. A large number of people have died and it is terrible “
During the first wave of infections, the Swedish government chose not to impose blockades, limiting itself to issuing recommendations and relying on the individual responsibility of citizens, partly in an attempt to save the economy. The cases of contagion per inhabitant exceeded those of Italy and the United Kingdom (while the deaths in proportion to the inhabitants were somewhat lower), and especially the Swedish statistics were much worse than those of the rest of the Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland and Norway. who imposed quick blockades and managed to break the contagion curve quite effectively, greatly reducing casualties.
With the arrival of the second wave, the Swedish government has changed its approach: since the end of November the government has introduced some restrictions, banning gatherings of more than eight people, closing some schools and banning the sale of alcoholic beverages after 8 p.m. However, very lax measures compared to those taken by the rest of Europe, however: restaurants, bars and all shops are open, there is no official recommendation on the use of masks and the ski season has just started, with open slopes and working elevators.
The situation of the pandemic has worsened even more in recent days: ICU beds are almost exhausted throughout the country, and in the Stockholm region, the capital, they have already reached 100 percent of their capacity. In addition, in recent days, a commission charged with investigating Sweden’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has published the first results of its investigation, which focused on the management of nursing homes and the protection of population groups with higher risk. The investigation found serious structural deficiencies and problems in the response to the emergency, and that the “general responsibility” for what happened rests with the current government and those that preceded it.
– Read also: The problems of nursing homes in Sweden
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