In this way, the Nordic countries have become both examples of horror and role models.

Sweden has been singled out as the different country in the corona pandemic. Neighboring countries also stand out, but in a completely different way.

The Nordic region has been described as a living laboratory in the corona pandemic. The fact that countries as similar as the Nordic countries have chosen different ways to stop the infection makes it natural to compare them.

In the international media, countries are used both as examples of terror and role models.

Critical in Swedish hospitals

All the Nordic countries have experienced a further spread of the infection in recent weeks. But again, Sweden is the hardest hit.

• In a month, more than 1,000 new deaths per crown have been recorded. More than 7,200 people have died in the pandemic in Sweden. The corresponding figure for Norway, which has half the population, is 389.
• The capacity of intensive care units in Stockholm has exploded.
• The proportion of test takers who have a crown is well above that of the other Nordic countries. 13 percent of those tested in Sweden last week were diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Tegnell: Norway and Finland are unusual

During the pandemic, Sweden has opted for less intrusive measures against the crown than other European countries. The government has now introduced stricter measures. But many believe that they have come too late. On December 1, The Washington Post wrote that the Swedish crown experiment “has failed.”

When the country’s state epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, faces the high death toll, he now says that it is not Sweden that stands out in Europe, but that it is Norway and Finland that are unusual.

He said last week that the situation in Sweden is more like that of other European countries. He pointed to Austria, which has similarly high infection rates, but even higher death rates despite a much tougher shutdown.

Italy has seen a sharp increase in the number of deaths recently. Events in Germany are also cause for concern.

Tegnell launched several possible explanations for why Norway and Finland stand out with a relatively small spread of infection and low mortality rates.

He noted that countries have more dispersed settlements and less immigration. In both Sweden and Norway, various immigrant groups have been particularly affected by the coronavirus.

Although infection rates have risen sharply in Finland recently, Norway and Finland still stand out positively on the European map, along with the island states of Iceland and Ireland. On the most recent regional map from the European Infection Control Agency, only four regions of Norway and Åland in the Baltic Sea are ‘green’.

However, infection control expert Pekka Nuorti from the University of Tampere doesn’t think it’s just about geography or population.

– Not tested

Both Norway and Finland closed the countries in March, and this summer Finland had the strictest entry rules in Europe. The epidemiologist believes that the peculiar characteristics of Finland, such as Norway, may Be part of the explanation why both countries have been better able to reduce infection so far.

Both geographic location on the outskirts of Europe, lower population density and cultural factors can be important, he says. Keeping distance is natural for fins too, he adds.

– But we still don’t have any evidence of these factors, he says.

The professor, for his part, is sure that great trust in the authorities has been important, and that the Finns have followed their recommendations.

– And then luck can’t be ruled out.

Documented effect

But the infection detection expert believes it is well documented that something else has worked in the fight against the virus. This is what he calls well-proven principles for epidemiologists in the field: testing, isolation, infection tracking, and quarantine, as well as avoiding over-propagation incidents. This is what Finland has invested in and achieved so far.

Combined with politicians making the right decisions at the right time, good coordination of local and national measures, and a sharp increase in testing capacity, Finland managed to reduce infection to a very low level this spring and summer, it believes. the teacher, which he thinks was particularly important. Half of the country’s population has also downloaded the infection tracker app. Coronablinkern.

Nuorti even helped create an infection tracking digital course that trained 3,000 new infection detectives. This summer, they managed to find up to 80 percent of the sources of infection.

– During the fall, we have had outbreaks and also incidents of super spread in many places in the country. But they have been suppressed and have not led to further expansion of society, Nuorti says.

– Balances on the edge of a knife

If the spread of the infection is too great, it is difficult to trace the sources. Therefore, it is also concerned about the increase in infection in Finland. Recently, the spread of the infection has increased across much of the country, with several hospitals reporting more hospitalized covid patients.

Emphasize that it is important to be humble and that the situation can change quickly.

– Finland is not an island. The situation has become more challenging, requiring important and national measures, he tells Aftenposten.

At a press conference on Thursday, Finnish infection control authorities said they are now balancing on “the edge of a knife.” Now they await the effect of new stricter measures.

– The next few weeks are crucial, said Liisa-Maria Voipio-Pullki at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, according to Yle.