The Northern Kingdom refuses to quarantine, does not recommend the mandatory wearing of a mask, and does not introduce any new measures against coronavirus.
In Sweden, which did not impose strict quarantine in the spring, the incidence of coronavirus is significantly lower than in other European countries. Over the past day in this country, not a single person has died of COVID-19.
Many countries did not approve of the Swedish government’s decisions to control the pandemic without sanitary restrictions. And while Stockholm has failed to achieve herd immunity, WHO says the Swedish system should be the model.
Sweden had the greatest chance of dying
Despite being a member of the EU, Sweden has always been adamant in its intention to maintain significant sovereignty. Sweden has always strived to maintain its ability to independently determine its own path and avoid complete dependence on a “supranational body”.
Stockholm also took its own path in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Critics of the soft strategy assured that Sweden could suffer from its own wrong decisions, and the situation with COVID-19 in the country is at risk of becoming disastrous.
However, it seems that the government of the country managed to achieve its priorities, providing “psychological peace of the population”, relatively small economic losses, and avoiding the collapse of the state health care system.
To a large extent, the reason Sweden’s controversial strategy to contain the virus worked is not even what decisions were made by the country’s government, but how those decisions were implemented by the population.
Swedish citizens showed a high level of trust in the decisions of the authorities and “a sense of certain freedom” allowed them to support the decisions of the authorities, notes the EUobserver edition.
Now, when Europe and the whole world are covered by the second wave of the pandemic, the northern kingdom also refuses to quarantine, does not recommend the mandatory wearing of a mask, and does not introduce any new measures against coronavirus.
So far in Sweden, the most severe restriction has been a ban on mass events with more than 50 participants. This week, while other European countries impose restrictions, Swedish Culture Minister Amanda Lind has pledged relief.
“If the epidemiological situation allows, then taking into account the social distance, from October 15, we will be able to raise the bar to 500 people,” she said.
Whether in transport, schools, shopping malls, or on the street, only foreigners or some elderly people wear the mask.
Until recently, Anders Tegnell, the chief epidemiologist and architect of the Swedish strategy, argued that the scientific evidence for the mask’s effectiveness was “surprisingly weak” and that “more contamination can be caused when people endlessly touch their face.”
Sweden prefers to focus on sustainable measures and, according to Lena Hallengren, Minister of Health, “We’re not going to ask people to wear a mask for years.”
“The big difference from other countries is that we have not changed our recommendations and our way of organizing social distancing. Therefore, we do not have to face the second wave that those countries are experiencing, where they first introduced quarantine and then canceled it,” explained Tegnell.
It emphasizes the continuity of the measures taken, which are thereby better understood and taken by citizens.
In fact, the message from the very beginning of the epidemic has always been the same: stay home at the slightest symptom, wash your hands, keep your distance, work from home, avoid public transport, and special instruction for those over 70: self-isolate.
Swedes trust their superiors and usually follow recommendations. The authorities convinced them that the fight against coronavirus is “a marathon, not a sprint” and that it is necessary to wait for the results, Le Figaro notes.
In early June, Sweden was the country with the highest chance of dying of a pandemic, and it took the curves a very long time to come down from this statistical plateau. But since July, most of the indicators have turned green.
Sweden has one of the lowest infection rates, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, with 42 new cases of coronavirus infection per 100,000 inhabitants in the past two weeks, compared with 231 in France.
Sweden follows a philosophy such as Lagom — it is an art of living that advocates moderation in everything, it does not claim to win, but appreciates that it is no longer publicly denigrated, as at the beginning of the epidemic, writes Le Figaro.
However, over the course of three weeks, Sweden has seen an increase in the number of infections: more than two thousand new cases were registered last week.
A total of 5,893 people have died from COVID-19 in Sweden. The number of people diagnosed with coronavirus infection is 93,615. Over the past 24 hours, their number has increased by 752 people.
As of October 1, according to the Swedish Intensive Care Register, 24 patients with severe COVID-19 are currently in intensive care units and receiving medical care.
