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According to official data, a record number of tests were carried out last week: more than 120,000 and only 1.3 percent. they were positive.
In the spring, this figure reached 19 percent for many weeks. According to some experts, this shows that the local strategy has paid off and the risk of infections has decreased, Reuters reports.
Sweden is going through the coronavirus crisis, which is being closely followed by foreign countries and has been widely criticized. The government abandoned the quarantine and instead appealed for civil liability. Residents were also urged to follow the rules of distance and hygiene. The idea is to focus on slowing down the spread of the virus because it is impossible to eradicate the pathogen.
In Sweden, 5,800 people have died so far who tested positive for Covid-19. The number of deaths per capita is much higher here than in other Nordic countries. At the same time, however, it is lower than in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, where a strict quarantine was established. Representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO) praised the Swedish model as sustainable.
“Our strategy has been consistent and sustainable. We probably have a lower risk of spreading the virus than in other countries,” said Jonas Ludvigsson, professor of epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute.
Swedes, he said, likely now have greater immunity than residents of most other countries. “I think now we will benefit greatly from this,” said the professor.
Facial masks are not recommended
Sweden has insisted on a strategy to curb the new coronavirus, based not on legal prohibitions and restrictions, but on human conscience. And after this day, when the number of new cases in Europe begins to grow again, Sweden still does not recommend the use of protective masks, writes AFP.
Although much of the world is already used to covering their nose and mouth in one way or another in public places, Swedes use public transport, walk through shops and elsewhere without any face protection. Developing a person with a protective mask is a rarity here.
Public health officials say that protective masks are not an effective way to stop the spread of the virus. According to them, it is much more important to follow a safe distance and to follow hand washing recommendations.
This Scandinavian country is the seventh largest in the world in terms of deaths from COVID-19.
Experts say that this situation arose from the inability to protect the residents of the nursing home from the beginning of the spread of the disease. In Sweden, no educational establishments, businesses, cafes or restaurants were closed, allowing the virus to circulate freely and the spread of the disease was relatively high.
The fact is that now, unlike other parts of Europe, where the number of new coronavirus cases is increasing again (for example, in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Italy), the statistics in Sweden advance in the right direction, and the cases decrease.
The death toll peaked in April, now only a few people die each day from COVID-19, and the number of new deaths has been steadily declining since the beginning of June.
Swedish public health officials say they see no reason to change the current strategy in any way, all the more so as it is finally showing positive results.
Sweden’s chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell of the Public Health Agency says there is no research to show that protective masks are effective in reducing the spread of the virus, meaning that if used incorrectly, they can do more harm than good. .
“There are at least three major reports – from the World Health Organization, the European Union Health Agency, and the Lancet report on which the World Health Organization relies – that say the scientific basis is very poor. We have not carried out our evaluation on this issue, “he recently explained to the press.
KK Cheng, an epidemiologist at the University of Birmingham Institute for Applied Health Research, told AFP news agency that such thinking was “irresponsible” and “childish” and urged the Swedes to change tack.
“It just came to our knowledge then. If I’m wrong, what is the harm?” He asked. Mr. Tegnell argues that with the introduction of the necessary measures in nursing homes, the figures in Sweden are increasingly gratifying. .
This is also due to the fact that sick people stay home, work from home, and maintain a safe distance.
“Attempts to replace those devices with protective masks will not work. Several countries that have started wearing masks are now monitoring the deterioration of the statistics,” said the leading Swedish epidemiologist on August 14.
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