Countries are releasing their COVID-19 restrictions completely despite the Omicron increase
Here’s a look at what they do.
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Sweden
During the pandemic, Sweden has created international headlines to consistently, and somewhat controversially, resist shutdowns while the rest of the world has chosen them.
And this week, the Scandinavian country raised its eyebrows further when it said that the pandemic was basically “over”, scrapping almost all of its few remaining restrictions and stopping most tests for covid-19, although the pressure on healthcare systems remained high and some scientists asked for more patience.
With the vaccine and the Omicron variant that alleviate serious cases and deaths, Minister of Health Lena Hallengren said that covid-19 would no longer be classified as a danger to society.
– This pandemic, I would say that it is over, she says to Dagens Nyheter. “It’s not over, but as we know it when it comes to rapid change and restrictions, it is.”
Sweden’s Minister of Health Lena Hallengren Source: SBS / News agency TT
When the restrictions were lifted on Wednesday, the Swedish hospitals still felt the strain, with about 2,200 people with covid needing hospital care, much like during the third wave in the spring of 2021.
But with free trials declined earlier in February and in practice stopped this week – the health authority said it was too expensive in relation to the benefits – no one knows the exact number of cases.
“We should have a little more patience, wait at least a couple more weeks. And we are rich enough to continue testing,” says Fredrik Elgh, professor of virology at Umeå University and one of the most dedicated critics of Sweden’s no-lockdown policy. told Reuters.
“The disease is still a huge strain on society,” he said.
Nearly 74 percent of Sweden’s population is fully vaccinated against covid-19, according to
.
Denmark
On February 1, Denmark, Sweden’s Nordic neighbor, lifted all restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant after officials said they no longer considered covid-19 a “socially critical disease”.
Officials said that while Omicron was increasing in the country – deaths and the number of cases have hung around record levels in the days since the restrictions were lifted – the variant was not a heavy burden on the health system.
Authorities on Friday also said they were considering “phasing out” the country’s vaccination program and saw no reason to now give a booster dose to children or a fourth shot to more residents at risk of severe covid-19.
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The Danish health authority said that the third wave of infections in the European country is slowing down “due to the immunity of the large population”.
“We will of course follow the epidemic closely, and we are ready to change our decision if there is a fourth spring wave or new worrying variants in the spring,” it said in a statement.
More than 80 percent of Denmark’s population is fully vaccinated, according to JHU.
Norway
Norway also lifted a series of covid-19 restrictions on 1 February, although they kept the recommendations to keep one meter away from others and a requirement to wear a mask when this is not possible.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said at the time of the announcement “that even though many people become infected with covid-19, a lower number of people are hospitalized”.
“Vaccines provide good protection – that means we can now remove a large number of measures, even if the frequency of infection increases rapidly.”
Since then, cases and deaths have risen to record levels, and hospital stays have also started to rise again.
The vaccination rate in Norway is almost 75 percent, and Støre said that the admission gave the authorities confidence to ease the restrictions.
The remaining restrictions can be lifted as early as February 17 if the spread of the virus develops as expected.
England
In the midst of revelations of The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson announced this week that all rules could be scrapped in England within two weeks – including the requirement to isolate after testing positive for the virus
Johnson told the British Parliament on Thursday that if the levels of infection remained stable, he would bring forward the changes by one month.
Johnson’s spokesman later told reporters that it was motivated by declining numbers of cases and hospital stays, but noted that the law to isolate itself could be reintroduced immediately in response to all dangerous new variants.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson. Source: EPA
The number of positive covid-19 cases has fallen sharply since the new year, although they are still at high levels. On Thursday, the UK reported 67,874 new infections and 284 deaths.
About 73 percent of the population has been double-vaccinated, according to the JHU.
The British government is only responsible for health policy in England, where delegated administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own rules.
In anticipation of Johnson’s unexpected announcement, Bruce Aylward, senior adviser to the World Health Organization’s director general, warned that the figures for covid-19 globally were still “absolutely astonishing”.
“What we are learning to live with is not just this virus, but what should be an unacceptable burden of disease, an unacceptable number of deaths every day,” he told the BBC.
Finland
Finland also plans to take similar measures, and the government said earlier this month that it would remove the curbs for public rallies from 14 February.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that the overall plan was to remove all restrictions in early March and that the country would closely follow developments in Norway and Denmark.
Despite high infections around the turn of the year, Finland is still among the countries least affected by the pandemic.
Last Thursday, with figures at record levels, it had a seven-day COVID fall and a death average of 8,939 and 17, respectively.
According to JHU, Finland has vaccinated 76 percent of its population.
With AFP, Reuters and AAP.