by MPeriod
Posted 3 years ago
Sweden has been both criticized and praised for its unorthodox approach to handling the pandemic, relying more on guidelines and never imposing a full lockdown. The country has seen nearly 350,000 cases and more than 7,800 deaths. Which is much higher than other nations in the region.
Sweden’s light-touch Covid-19 strategy with no formal lockdown, no recommendations to use face masks, and weaker quarantine rules than elsewhere in Europe has been the subject of intense international debate. Many opponents of lockdowns early on cited Sweden and its ability to keep its schools and economy open as a proof of concept of their ideals.
But domestic support for Sweden’s strategy has fallen in recent months as the country has been hard hit by the second wave of Covid-19. State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell argued throughout the spring and summer that Sweden would be spared compared with places like Finland and Norway because of higher immunity provided by the first wave.
Sadly for Sweeds, the opposite has transpired.
Sweden’s capital Stockholm and some other regions are close to running out of intensive care beds, prompting authorities to trigger a national escalation plan while both Finland and Norway have offered medical assistance. The government is also working on a temporary law to give it greater authority to order closures, but it is not likely to come into power until mid-March.
Topic: Politics
Tags: Covid-19 Sweeden