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Of: TT
Published:
February 1 | Photo: Jessica Gow / TT
Working from home has become commonplace for many during the pandemic, but no exact time frame can be given for when it may end. Stock Photography.
Society will not return to normal until we have an effective corona vaccine. For some, this may mean continuing with the task well into the next year.
– After we get the vaccine, people need to get vaccinated and it can take all spring, says former state epidemiologist Annika Linde.
The corona virus spreads effectively indoors where many people sit together. As a result, many workplaces closed their offices this spring and allowed staff to work from home. The current recommendations of the Swedish Public Health Agency involve tasks throughout the year.
– As seen now, it is not possible to give an exact time for when this ends and people can return to their places of work. Of course, it can be a very sad reality to live in and psychologically stressful. But Sweden’s opening up must and will take place gradually and that also includes our workplaces, says Annika Linde, who was a state epidemiologist at the then Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control between 2005 and 2013.
She points out how important testing is so that homework can be set aside when necessary.
– Testing is an extremely important tool for us to start loosening up some things. Private companies can, for example, pay for testing of their staff to allow those who need to meet to return to the workplace. But as soon as you see a relapse, you should be ready to come back, so we should do our best gradually, says Linde.
“Pretty normal for fall”
TT: How long will it take?
– I think that in a couple of weeks it will be possible to evaluate whether it is possible to make some recommendations more known, to, among other things, make working life work better. We’ll probably have a fairly normal social life during the fall, but uncontrolled normalcy won’t return until the spread of infection has completely ceased, Linde says.
TT: Will it happen in some order?
– Yes, I think you start with what feels least dangerous to let go. I hope and believe that first we will make sure that the elderly can be visited and the last thing we let go of is hygiene work in the care of the elderly, if we ever let it go.
Can’t set a limit
Annika Linde also believes that a Covid-19 vaccine plays an important role in allowing people to return to their workplaces. But even though he sees opportunities for an effective vaccine before Christmas, there are other obstacles.
– After we get the vaccine, people need to get vaccinated and it can take all spring. That is why it is impossible to give a timeline when you have such an unpredictable course. But perhaps our strategies on how to deal with the virus, both in everyday life and in the workplace, are so well developed that we live quite normally.
TT: Is it possible to set a limit on the level Sweden must be at so that we can live without obstacles?
– No, it is not possible at this time because we have very little experience with cluster propagation. In the long run, it may be possible to filter and find that limit later. But we, and the workplaces, must always be prepared to stop and go back, says Annika Linde.
– We will not be fully released until enough people are immune to the virus so that it does not spread further.
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