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The infection rate with the new coronavirus is less than 1 in Sweden, a sign that the epidemic remains under control, despite the government’s more relaxed approach compared to its European neighbors, writes the dpa agency, taken over by Agerpres.
Anders Tegnell, an epidemiologist at the Swedish Public Health Agency, is considered the author of this strategy applied by Sweden. He said that this contagion rate below 1, recorded over several days, means that the average number of people that a sick person infects is less than 1.
“That means that the pandemic will gradually weaken,” he told SVT television on Friday night.
Official data from the Public Health Agency shows that the spread rate has been relatively stable, around 1, since April 10.
On April 1, the rate was 1.4, and on April 25, the most recent date this information was officially released, it was 0.85, after several days of decline.
In his interview, Tegnell confirmed that the rate remained below 1, although the new data has not yet been released.
Sweden has drawn international attention, but also skepticism, about the decision not to introduce strict containment measures and not to close restaurants and bars. Kindergartens and schools in grades 1-9 remained open.
Although some restrictions have been introduced and secondary schools and universities are closed, Sweden has relied heavily on citizen judgment to comply with general recommendations on safety and social distance.
However, compared to the rest of Scandinavia, Sweden has a relatively high incidence of infections and deaths. As of Saturday morning, more than 22,000 infections and 2,650 deaths from COVID-19 had been reported.
Neighboring Finland has confirmed more than 5,000 infections and 220 deaths.
Web edition: Luana Păvălucă
