Sweden had a 10% increase in cases and deaths today.
And much higher than their Nordic friends.
COVID-19: As Sweden's death toll mounts, epidemiologists urge leaders to ignore their own public health agency
Sweden, which is an international outlier in resisting a lockdown, has suffered a much higher death toll than Nordic neighbours
Peace!
Two of Sweden?s top ministers have defended the country?s decision not to impose a lockdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic and insisted this approach had strong public support, despite a mounting death toll and sharp criticism from some scientists.
Deputy prime minister Isabella Lovin told the Financial Times that Sweden had taken ?very harsh and exceptional measures?, despite keeping its schools and restaurants open, as it wanted ?to take the right decisions at the right time?.
Ann Linde, foreign minister, said in a separate interview: ?We don?t believe in a lockdown if it?s not going to be sustainable over time. We don?t believe we can lock people in their houses for several months and have a high degree of people following it. But it?s a myth that it?s business as usual. It?s not business as usual.?
Sweden, which is an international outlier in resisting a lockdown, has suffered a much higher death toll than its Nordic neighbours, even adjusting for its population being roughly double that of Norway, Denmark or Finland. As of Wednesday, Sweden had 1,203 deaths due to coronavirus, against 143 for Norway, 309 for Denmark and 72 for Finland.
Swedish authorities are under pressure due to a rising number of coronavirus infections in elderly homes. Anders Tegnell, the state epidemiologist, noted this week that the average age of those dying in Sweden was markedly higher than in Norway. ?It is not a failure for the overall strategy, but it is a failure to protect our elderly who live in care homes,? he added. Ms Lovin called it ?very worrying? and added that ministers were calling municipalities with few infections to urge them to protect the elderly.
Both Ms Lovin and Ms Linde underlined that Sweden was following its tradition of ?more than 100 years? of following the advice of expert authorities when making decisions. Sweden?s public health agency recommended against closing primary and secondary schools, but the country did close them for students older than 16.
Denmark reopened its kindergartens and primary schools up to fourth grade on Wednesday, with Norway set to follow in the coming two weeks. But the governments in both countries decided not to follow the advice of their respective health agencies to have a broader opening of the school system.
More than 20 Swedish epidemiologists and scientists published an article this week urging politicians to take over from the public health agency and shut down schools and restaurants to avoid Sweden following the same path as Italy in terms of coronavirus deaths. ?The approach must be changed radically and quickly,? they wrote.
Ms Linde said the scientists were ?entitled to their opinion?. But she added: ?It?s very different to compare countries with different circumstances and different stages of the virus. We are all fighting the same fight but with different means.?
Much of the Swedish approach is centred around the idea that dealing with coronavirus will be ?a marathon, not a sprint?, with measures likely to be in place for months, if not years. Authorities believed that closing schools and kindergartens would have caused some key workers such as doctors and nurses to have to stay at home ? or for at-risk grandparents to be drafted in to do childcare.
https://nationalpost.com/news/world...ders-to-ignore-their-own-public-health-agency
