[ad_1]
This spring, it sounded as if there was a special Swedish ideology behind the country choosing its own path in the pandemic, with voluntariness and measures that the Public Health Agency deemed sustainable in the long term.
Almost 5,000 people died and many fell ill, but support for the Swedish virus control model remained high after the first wave of illnesses.
Now the situation has changed. The pandemic has extinguished up to 7,993 human lives and we know that the death toll will continue to rise. High death rates follow a high spread of infection and infection is increasing despite restrictions that the government and the Public Health Agency have already introduced.
Johan Carlson, director general of the Swedish Public Health Agency, said at a news conference on Friday afternoon that it appears that the spread of the infection is more aggressive this winter. He also said that too many people are crammed into department stores and shopping centers.
In other countries department stores are closed, shopping malls, restaurants and gyms completely. Here, their business is restricted but they are allowed to continue. A maximum number should be set for the number of people who can be there, even if there are no penalties if the number is exceeded. Restaurants will stop serving alcohol at eight at night. Also, mouth guards should be worn during rush hour on public transportation.
The latter is, in any case, a symbolic issue for Sweden which is beginning to look more like other countries, but with a long delay. The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has long recommended mouth protection in places where congestion can occur.
“If the previous and current recommendations are not followed, there will be legislation,” said Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren (s) at the press conference.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (S) reported on stricter rules for restaurants, shops and gyms, adding: if it doesn’t work, the government can shut them down.
Although ministers are careful As it does not sound like a reconsideration of the Swedish strategy, it is obvious that they are willing to throw away old principles and go towards a Swedish closure, if it is necessary to reverse the spread of the infection.
Stefan Löfven said at the press conference that a closure is a burden on society and that people cannot bear it in the long term, it can generate social unrest.
But a government cannot remain powerless if healthcare begins to collapse and death rates rise from a shockingly high level. It is difficult to see that the government has alternatives, especially when the king has condemned the crisis management as a failure and the opposition begins to demand tougher infection control measures.
