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Several European countries have reported in recent days that infection rates are increasing and many fear that this is the beginning of a second wave. This week Denmark saw a dramatic increase in the number of confirmed infections and the government imposed new strict restrictions.
Read more: Great Britain considers a new company closure
The WHO calls the increase in new cases in Europe “alarming” and the organization’s European director, Hans Kluge, has warned that the death toll, which so far has not risen in the same way as infection rates, could increase in October and November.
Yet one country stands out – Sweden, which now has one of the lowest per capita infection rates. As a result, more and more people have started to reevaluate the Swedish krona strategy.
As the death toll rose dramatically in Sweden during the spring, various media outlets reported critically on the Swedish strategy. In Le Monde, the Swedish measures were described as “poor”, Danmarks Radio questioned whether the Swedish authorities understood the seriousness and in The Guardian, the strategy was similar to “Russian roulette”.
State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell is described as the mastermind behind the model and has now gone from being portrayed as an outcast to being acclaimed. His face is seen on television screens and adorns the covers of several of the major foreign newspapers. Everyone seems to want to talk about the strategy of the Swedish crown and Anders Tegnell.
“For many Swedes, their state epidemiologist has embodied a rational attitude because other countries seemed to sacrifice science for emotions,” writes the Financial Times, quoting an anonymous Swedish CEO:
“That’s the way it is [Tegnell] He has stood up for what he believes in while the rest of the world has done something else that is admirable.
The Telegraph is titled “Is Sweden Open About to Win in Scandinavia?” and The Guardian “Sweden was saved from the second wave of Europe when infection remains low.” The British tabloid The Sun goes so far as to call Tegnell a “hero” who “saved the country” and writes that he has the status of “a fifth member of Abba.”
Sweden was together with Britain in early spring was one of the few countries in Europe that did not introduce a “blockade.” But a study by Imperial College London caused the British to shut down much of society because it estimated that around half a million Britons and some 85,000 Swedes risked dying in COVID-19.
But in Sweden, the Swedish Public Health Agency went its way and trusted the Swedes to take responsibility and follow the guidelines.
To date, just over 5,800 people have died from the disease, far more than in neighboring countries. Although these are extreme numbers, the curve has slowly stabilized since last spring, when the death toll soared. Now both Denmark and Norway have overtaken Sweden in the number of infections per day.
“When the death toll in Sweden this spring rose to one of the highest in the world, this investigator was charged [Tegnell] to create a “pariah state”. Now it seems his decision has paid off, “writes The Sun.
Unsurprisingly, the tabloid The Sun goes further in its tribute to Anders Tegnell.
Tegnell has commented on the Imperial Colleges study with the words: “Trash, trash” and has made no secret that he doesn’t believe in drastic closures.
“It’s like using a hammer to kill a fly,” he told the Financial Times.
Instead, it’s about having a strategy that can work for several years if necessary, and with which the population can live. Surveys show that eight out of ten Swedes follow FHM’s recommendations. Opening and closing schools, restaurants, and the like doesn’t work if you do it too many times. Then people get tired and companies are more affected than if they closed once, Tegnell tells the Financial Times.
The Swedish Public Health Agency expects the number of infections to increase in Sweden this fall, but not as in other countries, nor in the same way that it did this spring. It will probably be local virus outbreaks that can be prevented from spreading further.
The Swedish model in foreign media now looks like something for the future, although criticism remains of course. Danish researchers believe that the spring “lockdown” may have meant that the level of immunity has become so low that resistance has not developed among the population, leading to a further spread of the infection in the country.
Read more: Danish researcher: The pandemic in Sweden may be over
The Spectator newspaper continues to think that the British government relies too heavily on studies similar to those of the Imperial Colleges. Instead, Boris Johnson should send a signal to Anders Tegnell so that he can afford to solve his dilemma with rampant infection rates, the newspaper writes.
And Anders Tegnell would like to see greater cooperation across national borders in the fight against the corona pandemic.
– If we had had more openness and more discussions at a technical level between countries before such decisions were made, I think we would have come up with something, together, that would have worked better than the situation we have now, says Anders. Tegnell to The Spectator.
