International praise for the Swedish crown strategy

Sweden’s international image is beginning to improve when it comes to handling the pandemic. Foreign media report that the spread of the infection in Sweden is among the lowest in Europe and that the death toll is now low.

This is in contrast to what happened earlier this year, when Sweden came under heavy criticism for extremely high death rates and for not closing society like many other countries. In the New York Times, Sweden was even described as a “pariah state”, expelled from the Nordic community.

“The pandemic may be over”

– The pandemic may be over in Sweden, says Kim Sneppen, professor of biocomplexity at the Danish Niels Bohr Institute, to Politiken magazine and continues:

– There is evidence that the Swedes have gained some immunity to the disease, which together with what they do to prevent the infection from spreading is enough to keep the disease low.

In a great article in the Danish newspaper under the headline “Are we wrong about herd immunity? The very low infection rate indicates that “ interviewed Danish researchers. They note that the Swedish strategy, unlike the Danish one, appears to be successful because the spread of the infection is now very low.

High price paid

Kim Sneppen points out that Sweden has paid a high price for its herd immunity: 5,865 deaths in covid-19, almost ten times more than in Denmark.

– That’s what they paid for. The positive is that the pandemic may be over now, he tells Politiken.

Other Danish researchers told the newspaper that there is still a risk that Sweden could spread a second wave of infection like in Denmark. They also criticize Sweden for being poorly prepared at the start of the pandemic, which resulted in high death toll.

At the same time, the British The Sun publishes a hero portrait of Anders Tegnell. The popular tabloid, which with 1.2 million in circulation is the UK’s best-selling newspaper, pays tribute to the state epidemiologist under the title “How an icy scientist saved Sweden from coronavirus WITHOUT closure, and now he’s a national hero”.

“Fifth member of Abba”

The newspaper reporter has visited Sweden and writes that Tegnell pays homage at home “As if it were the fifth member of Abba”.

On some days, the Swedish death toll is zero and the Swedish economy contracted just 9 percent during the first months of the pandemic compared to 20 percent in Britain, writes The Sun. The newspaper notes that this has taken place without hard closures or mandatory face masks. “So it’s no wonder Tegnell is a hero to many in Sweden and around the world.”.

The Sun notes, however, that the Swedish death toll per person is the fifth highest in Europe and that there may be a new wave of infection during the fall.

“There may be more covid spikes. Just don’t expect a reversal and complete shutdown from Iceman Tegnell”writes the British newspaper.

More pink than rice

International reports on the Swedish crown’s strategy have been more positive in recent weeks, while the number of articles on pandemics is decreasing, the Swedish Institute writes in its latest summary.

According to articles in major US economic outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, the Swedish economy will cope relatively well during the pandemic. At the same time, one of the most shared articles in Italy is a critical text from the newspaper Il Corriere, which has a hard time seeing the benefits of Sweden’s strategy in the face of the large number of deaths.

The German information is predominantly positive. “Sweden in successful crown course”writes the newspaper Tagesspiegel.

Quran burning and riots

– There have been very intense reports on Sweden’s crown strategy, but it has slowed down a bit. In May, the information was negative. Now it is more about Sweden having a favorable situation with a low spread of the infection, says Anna Rudels, head of the department of digitization and communication at the Swedish Institute.

– There are also many reports of riots in Malmö, burning of the Qur’an and trials of criminal gangs. These are not positive substances in and of themselves, he says.