Photographer: Mikael Sjબરberg / Bloomberg
Photographer: Mikael Sjબરberg / Bloomberg
Concerns about capacity in the health-care system are now almost universal, undermining Swedish confidence in the nation’s strategy to combat the coronavirus epidemic.
a Published on Thursday by D.N. Polls by Ipsos showed that Swed૨% Swedes are either “somewhat” or “very concerned” about whether their healthcare system could face a challenge. Confidence in the authorities’ ability to fight the virus fell to 426% in October from 55% in October. Sweden, meanwhile, 44% of Swedes fear that authorities are not doing enough to fight the virus, compared to 1% last month.
“It is clear that the rising rate of infection, along with the steps taken by the authorities, has led to a sharp increase in anxiety,” Ipsos analyst Nicklas Callebring told DN.
Sweden’s decision to avoid a lockdown has been controversial, as it has a significantly higher mortality rate than the country’s Nordic neighbors. After a relatively quiet summer, daily cases have begun to increase and hospitals are overflowing. As of Wednesday, more than 200 people were in intensive care.
The National Statistics Agency said earlier this week that the effects of the Kovid crisis would eat away at life expectancy in Sweden after nearly a century of uninterrupted growth.
In a recent OECD study, Sweden consistently ranks among the most severely affected countries in Europe, as measured by the relative covid mortality and infection rate. It was also slow to have a transmission.
“In the third wave, the health care system will come under more stress than ever before,” Thomas Linden, head of Sweden’s national health and welfare department, said on Tuesday.
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