#anderstegnell

The Swedes complain a lot, it seems. Maybe not of the cribbing type. But forceful reprimands, you could say. And yes, going by the comments they are posting on social media contesting the Swedish government’s decision not to enforce a lockdown. There was this question on Quora, “What is it like to live in Sweden? I am disconcerted by the spite and anger in comments to news stories. The comments rant about the government/people/corporations of Sweden. Is this representative of a major section of the population?” Lucas Lundstrom, replying to this question said, “If something is not working well as it can, Swedish people get cranky. A company spells something on a sign wrong? Christmas TV scheduling rumored to change? A specific chocolate you like gets removed from the box of assorted chocolate? Expect articles about the atrocities for 6 months.”  

Sweden Is Lovely, And Different in Times of Covid-19

“Sweden is an amazing country, known for its clean streets, successful welfare and high percentage of non-religious people,” states Expert World Travel on its web page. Honesty is a trait that you could widely see in Sweden, says Sheel Sadan, Technical Architect in IKEA, a Swedish export to the world, known for its minimalist design furniture. It’s a country with frighteningly dark, long winters. Swedes are also wary of strangers. But they are nice people believing in moderation in everything (lagom) and enjoying a socialising coffee break (fika).

Sweden in a non-lockdown mode. Pic courtesy: The Guardian.

Sweden has responded differently to Covid-19 compared to other Nordic countries, especially Demark and Finland, its neighbours. Deaths in Swedish elder care homes have alarmed its people and death rate of 131 per million has invited criticism of Sweden’s approach. The comparative rates of 55 per million in Denmark and 14 per million in Finland has railed its citizens who are asking the government to be more stringent.

Twenty-two researchers took to Dagens Nyheter, a Swedish newspaper, to complain that public health authorities have failed and asked politicians to take charge of the situation. Scores of public health experts and scientists have called for a review of the current approach. But the Swedish authorities are unmoved.

Anders Tegnell Refutes Criticism

Image from KXAN36.

Anders Tegnell, epidemiologist at the Sweden’s Public Health Agency, is calling the shots and his controversial steps has been the subject of much debate. Nature, the top science journal, was intrigued by the Swedish approach and interviewed Tegnell. The article on the interview explained: “Sweden didn’t go into lockdown or impose strict social-distancing policies. Instead, it rolled out voluntary, ‘trust-based’ measures: it advised older people to avoid social contact and recommended that people work from home, wash their hands regularly and avoid non-essential travel. But borders and schools for under-16s remain open — as do many businesses, including restaurants and bars.”

The rationale behind that decision is widely believed to be herd immunity. But Tegnell has repeatedly emphasised that the reason for a more relaxed approach is not only aimed at flattening the curve but also not overburdening the public health care system and society, pushing them to a risk of collapse. In responding to queries from Nature, he has clearly laid out Sweden’s approach to Covid-19. His views are that Swedish laws on communicable diseases are mostly based on voluntary measures. “Closedown, lockdown, closing borders — nothing has a historical scientific basis, in my view,” he points out. When asked, “Do you think the approach has been successful?” he says, “It is very difficult to know; it is too early, really. Each country has to reach ‘herd immunity’ [when a high proportion of the population is immune to an infection, largely limiting spread people who are not immune] in one way or another, and we are going to reach it in a different way.”

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01098-x

Niclas Roland, writing in Bloomberg Quint, quoted Tegnell as saying that the relaxed measures enforced by Sweden are beginning to show results. “We are on sort of a plateau,” he is reported to have told Swedish news agency TT. But to Nature, Tegnell’s response was measured and thoughtful and not very outright.

https://www.bloombergquint.com/global-economics/sweden-says-controversial-covid-19-strategy-is-proving-effective

On April 5, The Guardian reported that Sweden is preparing for tough measures as death toll has risen due to Covid-19.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/05/sweden-prepares-to-tighten-coronavirus-measures-as-death-toll-climbs

But three weeks down the line, nothing much has changed in Sweden’s approach. On March 30, Derek Robertson, writing for The Guardian, said, “Strong words, but stoicism is a way of life here, as is unflappability. A 300-year history of efficient and transparent public administration, and high levels of trust in experts and governing officials, have left the public inclined to believe what they are told, and that those doing the telling have their best interests at heart.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/30/catastrophe-sweden-coronavirus-stoicism-lockdown-europe

Lars Trägårdh and Umut Özkırımlı, two professors, writing an opinion in The Guardian, reflected on why Swedish approach might work.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2020/apr/21/sweden-covid-19-policy-trust-citizens-state

This could be one of the key insights: “Some experts have speculated that Sweden’s approach to managing the spread of the virus may also be influenced by its demographic profile – more than 50% of households are single-person – and relatively low population density of about 25 people per square kilometre, compared with, for example, 205 in Italy and 259 in the UK.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/15/sweden-coronavirus-death-toll-reaches-1000

A media company, Discovery Networks, conducted a study to learn about the attitudes of their male viewers in 15 countries. When it came to Swedish men, the study opined: “However, the study also reveals that Sweden’s sensitive, new-age men may have shed the Protestant work ethic behind the traditional stereotype of the stoic, hard-working Swede who puts his head down and does what is necessary to complete the task at hand.”

https://www.thelocal.se/20080915/14344