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Public gatherings of more than 50 people are still prohibited, people are encouraged to stay home, but restaurants or bars can still operate, children still go to school.
Despite its flexible application of quarantine measures, it still lags behind Spain, Italy and the UK in the number of cases and deaths due to COVID-19 . As of May 12, Sweden has recorded 26,670 positive cases for the SARS-Cov-2 virus, of which 3,256 have died.
Observers in Sweden said that only a few months later it would be clear if the country’s anti-epidemic strategy would work.
Economic failure is more deadly than Covid-19
“In the long run, here [niềm tin vào miễn dịch cộng đồng] it will be an effective campaign, “said Peter Nilsson, professor of internal medicine, epidemiologist at the University of Lund, Sweden.
He also noted that Sweden’s “flexible strategy” allowed the country to continue developing its economy and avoid an increase in unemployment.
“It must be understood that the death rate caused by Covid-19 will be much lower than the ‘death rate’ due to the social blockade when the economy is in crisis. Why? Due to unemployment and all that. The social problems that it entails are much more influential. A weak economy will harm and kill people, “he argues.
Furthermore, one of the consequences of this strategy is that Sweden can achieve community immunity, Nilsson emphasized, adding that the second, and possibly the third, wave of outbreaks. The Covid-19 translation will become a test solution for Sweden and other countries.
“Sweden can acquire community immunity before other countries. And the spread of the virus and the number of deaths will decrease once the entire population is immune,” said Mikael Rostila, a professor at the Department. Public health research in actions at Stockholm University.
He added: “Countries that are trying to reopen may have to face another virus outbreak. So it’s just that countries have just postponed the next one.”
The idea of community immunity was repeated many times by Anders Tegnell, an epidemiologist at the Swedish Center for Public Health and a strategist in the battle with Covid-19 from Sweden. .
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued warnings since April that “there is no evidence that the bodies of people infected with Covid-19 have immune antibodies to this disease.” .
A bar in Sweden announces that it is still open during the season (Image: Reuters)
The risk for the elderly group and ethnic minorities.
Swedish academics acknowledge that the number of Covid-19 deaths in this country is higher than that of its northern European neighbors. The pandemic has affected older people.
“We have to do more testing,” said Peter Nilsson. “We have to provide better equipment. And the problem lies in training. In Stockholm, many of the staff in nursing homes are temporary workers. They come to work, they go back to their shifts.” , and young people (like students, students) can come to work part time and of course these part time employees are not as good as full time employees, this is a sad thing, and we hope other countries can protect the elderly better than we do. “
The large number of deaths in nursing homes has drawn criticism of the strategy Sweden has adopted, said Paul Franks, professor of genetic epidemiology at Lund University. He also said that Sweden did not protect vulnerable ethnic groups during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The immigrant community is approximately 10-15% of the population. Many of them do not speak Swedish or English, making communication difficult. As a result, the deaths are almost all fell in this community.”
In April, the Swedish Public Health Center emphasized that the large Swedish immigrant community was at greater risk of being attacked by Covid-19 than indigenous people.
“Somalis are almost five times more likely to be infected than people born in Sweden,” admitted Anders Tegnell.
Sweden’s special belief
In mid-April, a group of 22 scientists from Sweden’s major universities and research institutes wrote a letter to criticize the Center for Public Health for its “flawed” approach. , and also urged the government to change its strategy when the number of Covid-19 deaths in the country reached 1,000.
“Of course, the current number of deaths or the predictions of the probability of their increase are always of interest. But our experts predict that the number of deaths is in the range of 10,000-20,000.” , 80-90% of whom are elderly, and some experts do not pay attention to what we discuss: that a second outbreak or financial problems will kill many people. more than that, “said Peter Nilsson.
According to Paul Franks, there are many factors that show success and failure in Swedish anti-epidemic strategies.
“Put the measures on the scale. Some people have judged that Sweden’s strategy is not reasonable because the number of deaths is still very high compared to other countries … Many countries are reopening, Sweden is not necessary because we never have played. We just keep doing what we’ve been doing. And we can do it. “
Despite much criticism from other countries, the world “now seems to see Sweden’s strategy more optimistic when its countries face too much pressure due to the reopening” – Professor Mikael Rostila commented.
Mr. Rostila also said that Sweden’s anti-epidemic plan is not how it can be applied anywhere.
“The Swedes have very high faith in their state and their politicians, which is clearly shown in the polls. Therefore, we Swedes can have a different strategy.” [với các nước], based on the belief that people will follow the guidelines given by the government and public health centers without the need for prohibition or sanctions. “
“It remains to be seen if Sweden’s strategy will succeed,” Rostila emphasized.
“One or two years later, looking back, we will see. Therefore, it is very important to understand that the application of different measures in each country is impossible.” use of measures when the pandemic has not ended. We have to wait and see. “
