WHO marks Sweden’s crown strategy as an example to follow – NRK Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

– I think we can learn from our colleagues in Sweden, says Michael Ryan.

He is the Director of the Emergency Management Program of the World Health Organization (WHO), where he leads the group that works in the international management of covid-19.

– We must be aware that the virus exists and we, as individuals, families and communities, must do everything possible to limit the spread. It will mean that we have to adapt our lives to that situation. In Sweden, they do this in real time.

While country after country almost shut society down to try to stem or suppress the spread of the infection, Sweden remained largely open. Among other things, bars, resorts, gyms, schools and kindergartens have been opened.

Personal responsibility

Ryan points out that the Swedish strategy is based on a personal responsibility to keep distance and follow hygiene advice.

That he believes can be a successful long-term recipe. He believes that Sweden with him may have found a solution to the problem of increased infection that he believes many countries will experience by facilitating strict measures.

Ryan believes there has been a misunderstanding that Sweden is doing next to nothing to stop the spread of the coronavirus. That’s not true at all, he says, according to Expressen.

– Sweden is believed to have allowed the virus to spread. Could not be farther from the truth. Sweden has a hard line when it comes to social distance. What they have done differently is that they have trusted the relationship between people and authorities, Ryan said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Criticized by strategy

Swedish authorities have been criticized by several teams for their crown strategy. Sweden has, inter alia, kept bars, resorts, gyms, schools and kindergartens open.

Compared to the population, there are now five times as many coronary heart infections that have died in Sweden than in Norway.

“We are heading towards a tragedy: the pandemic is becoming a flood for us,” Björn Olsen, a professor of infectious medicine at Uppsala University and chief physician, told NRK earlier this month.

Swedish state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who has been singled out as the architect of the Swedish strategy, declined to criticize the choice of strategy.

When Tegnell participated in the NRK Debate two weeks ago, he stated that much indicates that they will achieve group immunity against the crown in Stockholm during May.

– Many governments have neglected

Swedish statistician Ola Rosling, co-author of the book “Factfulness” with his father Hans Rosling, believes that there is a clear connection between the spread of the infection and people’s trust in, or lack of, such authorities.

– We did a survey in the UK, among other things, about the coronavirus. There, 20-30 percent responded that they feel the authorities cannot be trusted. So it doesn’t matter if the government says you can’t go out, those people don’t listen to it anyway, Rosling tells NRK.

– It is not the measures that a government is taking that are crucial for the spread of the infection, but whether people follow them or not. A government cannot create determined behavior simply by ordering people, because people ruin it if they distrust the government. Many governments have been careless.

Rosling believes that the Swedish government has not been as warning as in many other countries, and believes that it may have created the confidence and motivation necessary for long-term cooperation.

“Quiet Disorders”

As a result of severe coronary measures and the closure of communities, several countries have seen bankruptcies, layoffs and high unemployment.

In the end, no one knows what causes the worst consequences, the coronavirus or pandemic measures. Rosling, however, remembers the damage caused by strict measures, which can be more difficult to put a price on.

– It is a form of suffering that can be difficult to calculate, but that takes time to repair later. We can look at past crises, such as the financial crisis, which caused unemployment, which in turn led to mental illness, alcoholism, and ultimately suicide. We’ve already seen reports of an increase in domestic violence, says Rosling.

– When we face the future in the future, I think we will think that more damage was created with severe restrictions, but it is too early to conclude yet.