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Bo Rothstein is a professor of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg and is now responding to the statement by Foreign Minister Ann Linde at SVT on Saturday where the Foreign Minister made it clear that she herself would not book a trip. abroad this summer. A government decision on a possible extension of the travel ban will be made “long before June 15,” Linde said.
Linde’s statement arrives At the same time, airlines such as SAS, Norwegian and Lufthansa reopened their reservations as of this date.
– Linde’s statement must be based on the fact that it is very dangerous for people in Sweden to travel abroad. But I don’t think that’s the case if you look at how it looks in the rest of Europe and especially in certain regions of Europe, says Bo Rothstein.
Bo Rothstein has produced figures on how the situation regarding the deceased in Europe looked on the day Linde made his statement, that is, on May 9.
– Even Belgium or the United Kingdom did not reach our levels in terms of the number of deaths. If we look all week, the results are basically the same, but then Belgium and possibly the UK are slightly above us. The main vacation countries like Greece, Spain and Italy are clearly lower.
Don’t you think the Foreign Office believes that Swedes can be trapped abroad? Now that Europe is opening more and more of its operations, perhaps there will be talk of a closure if a second wave arrives?
– I can understand that. If the airlines shut down, then maybe the situation will change, but as it seems now, it doesn’t.
Now Germany is opening up and already today it is possible to see that the R number, which shows how the infection spreads, is increasing. Do you not think that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers that this may increase dissemination again?
– If it happened around June 15, if the infection increases in Europe, I understand that it is not recommended.
But Bo Rothstein believes that it should, however, be possible to travel to certain regions, as several areas in Europe have significantly fewer deaths than Sweden, which has 320 deaths per million inhabitants. Naples has 64, Sicily 50 and Rome have 92 deaths per million inhabitants, says Rothstein:
– And this is how it looks in most countries. While Lombardy with Milan is at a maximum of 1,500. But the lower regions of Italy do not increase and have not done so in ten weeks. And it looks the same when you compare Stockholm and Skåne. If you go to Gothenburg, you had 72 dead last week. The week before 62 and before 79, so he’s still here. The same applies to intensive care in Gothenburg.
Bo Rothstein thinks you You should look at these regional differences before making a new decision to extend the restrictions. Because you see differences in many parts of the world:
– When epidemiologists say it will be the same everywhere, you should look at the differences between, for example, New York State and California. They are huge
And don’t you think it will be a smoothing over time?
– Then it will be for a long time. There has been no equalization in Italy, twelve weeks after the epidemic. About 22 days passed between the virus was in full swing in Milan until the trip was closed. During those days, there were 36 high-speed trains every day between Milan and Rome with a total of 800,000 people who could have spread the virus, but it did not happen.
Do you think you should be able to continue traveling on June 15?
– Yes, as it looks now. And now Sweden is one of the most dangerous countries. Why would we not be allowed to travel to regions of Europe where there is much less risk of being?
