The wording of the Swedish strategy was changed

On April 7, 2020, an article was published on the government website titled “Strategy for the new coronavirus.” Until recently, it was possible to read that:

“The overall goal of the government’s work is to reduce the rate of spread of infection, that is, to flatten the curve so that not many people get sick at the same time.”

Now the wording has been removed from the article. Instead, the paragraph has been changed to:

“The overall goal of government work is to reduce the spread of infection in society.”

There is no information on the website if and when the article, on which journalist Emanuel Karlsten was the first to report, has been updated.

However, by using the Wayback Machine archiving tool, you can still read previously saved versions of the website, and the old wording was kept no later than January 26.

Criticism of the writing

Tove Fall, professor of molecular epidemiology, is one of several who have opposed the above formulation.

“I really wanted a more ambitious goal, to minimize the spread of the infection, not just slow it down,” she wrote in Twitter January 17, in a comment to a post by the Minister of Higher Education Matilda Ernkrans (S).

Ernkrans shared a link to the article on the government’s crown strategy on the same day that SVT “Agenda” aired a special two-hour program on the pandemic, where, among others, Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren (S) was asked on the Swedish Line.

Hallengren strongly objected to the host’s question about the government in the spring “allowed the spread of the infection to a certain level.”

– We do not have a strategy, we have not had a strategy and we will not have a strategy that says that we think it is okay with some spread of the infection. We will reduce the spread of the infection as much as possible, he said at SVT.

KU-reported government

Anders Tegnell, a state epidemiologist with the Swedish Public Health Agency, also objected to the claim that Sweden has deliberately accepted some spread of the infection. This despite the fact that in previous statements, including in DN in March last year, he spoke of the importance of a “calm and careful dissemination” so as not to overload medical care.

Opposition politicians, as well as several prominent writers, note that the government and the Public Health Agency have changed their rhetoric since last spring.

Have “It went from ‘reducing the rate’ of infection spread in April to reducing it ‘as much as possible'”writes SvD national policy commentator Göran Eriksson.

The KU-moderates reported to the government on Friday, in part because they believe the government’s strategy was marked by mixed messages. This spring, the goal was to limit the spread of the infection so that medical care can deal with it, now it is to limit the spread of the infection in general, according to group leader Tobias Billström (M).

– There are two goals that are not completely compatible, says Billström to Aftonbladet.

Expressen is looking to government offices for comment.

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