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The Swedish strategy against the pandemic, which places great responsibility on the individual, places great demands on the design of crisis communication from authorities and politicians, says Orla Vigsö, crisis communication researcher in Gothenburg.
He believes that strategy paves the way for many interpretations, and therefore also for conflicts between people. And despite constant calls from politicians and authorities to citizens to follow the recommendations, many testify that not all do.
– People get angry and frustratedE about others not keeping their distance. There will be some cracks in social cohesion, and that should have been anticipated. It’s very difficult to get all the advice and recommendations to stick together, says Orla Vigsö.
For example, stores are still open, while we are urged not to go shopping. We are urged to keep our distance to reduce the spread of infection, while allowing eight people to sit at the same table in a restaurant.
Arrive with vital messages For an entire population it may seem like an impossible task, and state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell believes that “vision zero” is impossible. But he disagrees that the messages are contradictory.
– That is not the signal we receive when we come out with these surveys that the MSB (Civil Protection and Emergency Planning Agency) has commissioned. I think you have to be very careful to try to understand if this is a reality or just an experience for some groups.
But congestion and situations where there are restrictions and the recommendations do not follow reality or simply an experience of certain groups? Crisis communication researcher Orla Vigsö believes that it depends on the sources of information that are used.
– I think that what is done is to be based on statistics obtained from a public source, and not on observations, that is, what we usually call anecdotal evidence. But when Tegnell says that people follow the recommendations at the same time that you can see with your own eyes how people move in the city, you cannot go together.
