They thought we were crazy

When the corona pandemic hit this spring, much of Europe was shut down. Sweden chose another path. By leaving society and school open, the strategy of the Swedish crown ended up in the limelight of the world for its way of dealing with the spread of infection.

– It is not justified to close primary and secondary schools across the country. The consequences of this risk are great, said at the time the director general of the Swedish Public Health Agency, Johan Carlson.

But after the infection in Sweden gained new momentum, the government has taken much tougher action. As of Friday, the sale of alcohol will be prohibited after 10 pm, and as of Tuesday, a maximum of eight people will be able to gather during public events and public gatherings.

Hallengren: “We have come a long way”

In SVT’s “Morning Studio”, Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren was asked if Sweden is now as close to closure as possible.

– In any case, we’ve come a long way, I mean. So of course it is a matter of definition what a closure is. Different countries use different methods, sometimes with bans and sometimes with heavy restrictions. But society must function, someone must work in care and someone must work in schools, Hallengren says.

This week, the government gave upper secondary schools a greater opportunity to use distance education to help fight the increasing spread of the infection. But there is no new national school closure, a line from which much of Europe is now hanging.

In Germany, France and the UK, new closures have been introduced to stem the second corona wave, but both schools and pre-schools remain open. The same applies to other heavily affected countries such as Belgium, Spain and Italy, as well as Sweden’s Nordic neighbors.

– We had a moral obligation to reopen our schools as soon as it was safe to do so. They will be the last element of our society to close again, said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“They thought we were crazy”

The message has been the same from the leaders of several other European countries.

According to Education Minister Anna Ekström (S), it has become clear how her ministerial colleagues changed their attitude since last spring.

– This spring, everyone closed and we thought they were crazy. Now everyone is trying to keep preschools open. They have learned the hard way, it is clear that children lose both consciousness and the safe point that school is for many, says Ekström in Nyhetsmorgon on TV4.

The Education Minister does not rule out the closure of a school, but says that this is the last measure she wants to take.

– The younger the children, the lower the risk of serious diseases. I want to do whatever is effective, then I keep the schools open until they have to close, says Ekström.

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