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At the moment, the spread of the infection is great in various places in Sweden and DN has been able to say that intensive care in the Stockholm region is under very strong pressure with 99 percent of places occupied.
– I understand that people are very concerned in Stockholm and the spread of the infection is great in Sweden. But there are also brighter signs. If you look at the number of cases, it seems that it has started to stabilize and in many parts of Sweden it has also started to decline quite clearly. Several of the smaller regions show this and even in Västra Götaland it is going down. Skåne is probably the region that is still on the rise.
According to Anders Tegnell, there are new studies showing the difficulty of protecting yourself against the disease.
– Today, there are various reports that 80-90 percent of those who get sick do not infect anyone else. Instead, the last 10-20 percent infects many people. This irregularity in the spread has made it difficult to manage the infection, especially it has made it very difficult to assess what is effective in stopping the infection when it seems that chance is such an important factor. If people do not infect in nine out of ten cases, then, of course, it does not matter what measures they take.
– I don’t think there is any other such extreme disease.
What are you waiting for when society can begin to return to some kind of new normal now that we see vaccines beginning to become a reality?
– The first thing we hopefully notice is that special nursing homes will be better protected. It is a priority to vaccinate those who live there and the staff who work there so that we can reduce that spread of infection quickly. These are not large groups, so we should be able to do it relatively quickly.
Should this be seen as a life-saving issue because those who live there are so vulnerable?
– Exactly. It should reduce the death rate relatively quickly if the vaccine works as well as it is claimed in that group. But before we have an effect on society, it will probably take several more months. Maybe somewhere next summer if everything works optimally.
And during that time should we continue to think as we do today?
– Yes. I think we should take that into account.
Photo: Ted S Warren / AP
But before that, Christmas and New Years await. And in almost every country, authorities and governments have made exceptions to allow people to celebrate some form of Christmas.
– Yes, you have to celebrate Christmas. But the important thing is to do it in the smallest circles possible, we say that from all the Nordic countries. I think it is a correct assessment to do so, it is not possible to keep people apart for long and under any circumstances. It should work reasonably well, even if it should be a different Christmas, as the Prime Minister said. You cannot completely abstain from a Christmas celebration.
Why is it so important?
– Christmas is important to many. Since then this has been going on for so long that I think the uptake, which has been quite high, even surprisingly high in many countries with very hard closures, I think it has started to fall. We see protests against tough measures and closures taking place in Europe. It is not possible to execute it completely by force, you cannot detain people with the police and the army, not in a democratic society.
Do we need holes to breathe in the midst of all difficulties?
– Yes I think so.
What do you think of your Christmas celebration?
– It will be a family Christmas a little smaller than usual, not like we are used to. It will be the closest family, so we will have to catch up in the future.
Read more:
Amina Manzoor: New Data Provides Reassuring News About Covid-19 Vaccine
Tegnell: I think it will be a harsh winter in Europe
