Covid crisis: Would Britain have followed Sweden’s example? | The world | News
Sweden will probably see more coronavirus infections in the coming months, according to experts – as a result of the Delta variant, which tears through many nations and causes increases in new infections. Unlike most other nations, Sweden decided not to carry out a full-scale lockdown during the pandemic, and many experts believe that this investment was worthwhile. Express.co.uk talks to a molecular medicine professor and virologist about the real cost of the Swedish decision and whether the UK would have done better if it had followed suit.
The Swedish Public Health Agency updated its recommendation for incoming travelers this week.
Everyone who enters Sweden from a country outside the Nordic region is now recommended to test for COVID-19 after arrival.
Travelers who are not fully vaccinated from outside Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Finland should avoid contact with others for one week after arrival.
They are also advised to take a test as soon as possible after arrival.
Children under the age of six, and those who received a second dose less than two weeks before arriving in Sweden, are exempt from these rules.
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Since the coronavirus outbreak began in Sweden, there have been 14,692 deaths after positive covid tests.
There have been 7,723 Covid patients in intensive care, including those who died and those who recovered and were discharged.
There were a total of 1,127,917 confirmed cases of covid on 1 September, an increase from 1,126,813 on 31 August.
In total, 70.4 percent of the Swedish adult population has been completely vaccinated – which corresponds to 5,767,1077 receiving two doses of the jab.
Professor Martin Michaelis, virologist and professor of molecular medicine at the University of Kent, said that Sweden did not have any formal suspensions in the same way as the United Kingdom.
He told Express.co.uk: “Even though Sweden has not had formal suspensions in the same way as the UK, people are still expected to follow non-voluntary recommendations from the Swedish Public Health Agency.
“These recommendations have included working from home, avoiding non-essential domestic travel and social distance. In addition, people over 70 were expected to stay at home as much as possible.
“Everyone with the slightest suspicion of a COVID-19 infection was also advised to stay at home.
“In addition, legislation was introduced that temporarily prohibited visits to nursing homes and gatherings of more than 50 people.
“High schools and universities were closed for a while.”
According to a recent opinion poll conducted by the Swedish Agency for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning, two thirds of Swedes are not worried about the pandemic’s consequences for themselves or their families.
Experts disagree on whether Sweden has taken the right or wrong approach.
The country’s death toll is lower than the average for the European Union as a whole.
Sweden’s economy has also bounced back faster than any other country – with GDP shrinking by 2.8 percent in 2020, which is lower than the EU average of six percent.
The National Board of Health and Welfare has reported a continued reduction in the number of people seeking treatment for anxiety and depression, especially among children and young adults.
This means that the coronavirus pandemic has had less of an impact on the mental health and anxiety of those in the country.
Professor Michelis told Express.co.uk: “Swedish healthcare has been under enormous pressure.
“In the winter of 2020/2021, only emergency and COVID-related care could be provided.
Tens of thousands of operations have to be postponed.
“On December 18, 2020, 99 percent of the intensive care beds were occupied in Stockholm.”
In addition, Professor Michaelis said that while the Swedish death toll is lower than in the United Kingdom, the United States or France, it is still higher than many other countries such as Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany.
He added: “If you look at countries that are known to have taken very strict approaches to COVID-19, the number of deaths per million inhabitants is even lower. For example, South Korea is at 45, Australia at 39, Taiwan at 35 and New Zealand at five. ”
Therefore, the virologist totally said that he would not consider that Sweden had been a “successful way to deal with a pandemic like COVID-19”.
He added: “Although there were no formal suspensions, there were still strict restrictions and measures.
“The Swedish covid-19 death rate was very high in comparison with its demographically similar Scandinavian neighbors.
“In particular, both the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and the Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven have expressed concern about the Swedish approach.”