Sweden is outlier in virus restrictions

After a long, dark Scandinavian winter, the coronavirus pandemic is not keeping Swedes at home even while citizens in many parts of the world are sheltering in place and won’t find shops or restaurants open on the few occasions they are permitted to venture out.

Swedish authorities have advised the public to practice social distancing and to work from home, if possible, and urged those over age 70 to self-isolate as a precaution. Yet compared to the lockdowns imposed elsewhere in the world, the government’s response to the virus allows a liberal amount of personal freedom.

Standing at bars has been banned in Sweden, but restaurant customers can still be served at tables instead of having to take food to go. High schools and universities are closed, but preschools and primary schools are still running classes in person.

“Sweden is an outlier on the European scene, at least,” said Johan Giesecke, the country’s former chief epidemiologist and now adviser to the Swedish Health Agency, a government body. “I think that’s good.” Other European nations “have taken political, unconsidered actions” instead of ones dictated by science, Giesecke asserted. It remains unclear how long Sweden’s exceptional state will last.

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven,warning of “many tough weeks and months ahead,” announced that as of Sunday, gatherings would be limited to 50 people instead of 500. The government noted that weddings, funerals and Easter celebrations would be affected. Still, to reduce the spread of the virus in Germany and the UK, groups larger than two are currently prohibited unless they are composed of people who already live together.

For now, the Swedish government maintains that citizens can be trusted to exercise responsibility for the greater good and will stay home if they experience any COVID-19 symptoms. Many Swedes are indeed keeping the recommended distance from others.

But some scientists have criticised the Swedish Public Health Agency’s approach as irresponsible during a worldwide pandemic that has already killed over 21,000 people in Europe.

In an open letter to the government, some 2,000 academics called for greater transparency and more justification for its infection prevention strategy.

Sweden’s current chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, said, “The goal is to slow down the amount of new people getting infected so that health care gets a reasonable chance to take care of them. That’s what we all do in every country in Europe. We just choose different methods to do it.” Sweden, a nation of 10 million, had a total of 3,447 confirmed virus cases and 105 deaths by Sunday, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally. However, there has been limited testing, with some 24,500 tests conducted by Wednesday, according to official statistics.