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On Thursday, the state epidemiologist in Sweden Anders Tegnell was interviewed on the SVT program “Aktuellt”. There he was asked about the difference between the number of deaths in Sweden and the rest of the countries of the Nordic region.
Tegnell began by saying that Norway and Finland are unusual from a European perspective, looking at how the coronavirus has affected countries.
Tegnell reported incorrect death figures: – Not intended
– There are a number of differences that are very obvious, and these are countries that are not very densely populated and have a relatively small population. Small groups of immigrants have been very active in many countries. So there are a number of differences between us and these (the Norwegian and Finnish daily), which make us significantly more like the countries of Europe, he said during the broadcast.
Arouse reactions
Now the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet writes that the statement to the state epidemiologist provokes reactions on social media in Sweden.
– The best study so far shows that the response to restrictions did not differ between areas with higher density of immigrants and areas without, writes Jonas Vlachos, an economist and professor at Stockholm University, on Twitter.
Molecular epidemiology professor Tove Fall is also among responding researchers.
The fact that people of foreign origin in our society have been more affected by covid-19 should not be interpreted as meaning that we would have had significantly less infection without these people, who, for example, often have occupations in those that telecommuting is difficult. Adapted efforts are needed in the most affected areas / professions.
– Tove Fall (@FallTove) December 4, 2020
– The fact that people with foreign backgrounds in our society are more affected by covid-19 should not be interpreted as meaning that we would have had significantly less infection without these people, he writes on Twitter.
Furthermore, he writes that many immigrants also have occupations that are difficult to carry out remotely.
– Unfortunate word choice
Tegnell tells Aftonbladet that what he said on the show went wrong.
– It was an unfortunate choice of words. It is not the case that I think they drive the spread of the infection. I have always made it clear that this is obviously not the case. On the other hand, there is a group that has been greatly affected by the infection, he says.
It says that the Nordic countries cannot be compared to each other when it comes to infection and death rates, as the countries have different assumptions regarding population, population density, demographics, and travel habits.
According to Expressen, Sweden has a population density of 23 inhabitants per square kilometer, while Norway has 14 and Finland 16.
Aftonbladet writes that Sweden has more people of foreign origin, compared to neighboring countries. Tegnell emphasizes that immigrants have been more affected by the coronavirus than other parts of the Swedish population.
– Of course, it is very unfortunate in several ways, but it was unfortunate of me to use that word, because that is not what I was referring to at all, he tells the Swedish newspaper.
On Friday, there were 60 deaths from corona and 6,269 new infections in Sweden, in the last 24 hours. The day before, 7,000 deaths per crown passed.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, there have been 278,912 cases of infection and, as of Friday, there are 245 corona patients admitted to Swedish intensive care units.
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