End of liberal rules – Sweden’s end of serenity

Now there is also a fear of a medical disaster in Stockholm. The population is preparing for tougher pandemic measures.

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So far, Sweden has followed a special path in the crisis; the country is more appealing than restricting. However, the rising numbers of people infected this week are putting increasing pressure on the healthcare system. As one of the last countries in Europe, Sweden is also preparing for tougher pandemic rules.

State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell had already spoken of a “worrying” situation on Thursday, and the restrictions are now also increasing for the Swedes. As of Friday, 333 people died from the coronavirus, 469 people were cared for in intensive care units.

Crisis mode in hospitals

The health authorities said on Friday that a third of the beds in intensive care units were still free. On the SVT transmitter, however, the doctor Andreas Hvarfner from the Karolinska University Hospital explained that these beds might all be needed at the weekend, so Sweden would also be at the point where doctors had to choose between life and death. Minister of Health Lena Hallengren did not want to rule out the possibility that Sweden could “head for a medical disaster situation”.

Authorities for the Stockholm region meanwhile announced the crisis mode for the hospitals. This means that doctors and nursing staff have to work up to 48 hours from now on, but also receive double salaries.

It feels like we’re being sacrificed. »

Stockholm doctor who has less protective clothing available.

This week, the announcement of the regions caused annoyance among doctors and nurses that the requirements for protective clothing should be softened: Long-sleeved clothing and a face mask should no longer be compulsory in all phases of the treatment of corona sufferers in the future. “It feels like we’re being sacrificed,” quotes the Dagens Nyheter newspaper from a Stockholm doctor.

Bad news from the old people’s homes

In Sweden, primary schools have not been closed, nor have restaurants or gyms. However, the authorities had long warned people to avoid social contacts if possible. The country’s major ski areas will be closed on Monday. Since Thursday, visits to old people’s homes have also been banned: infected people were found in every third old people’s home in Stockholm this week. This is bad news for the state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who declared the protection and isolation of the elderly to be the central component of his relaxed strategy. He said the diseases were unfortunate: “This is exactly what we have tried to prevent in every possible way,” he said. Sick older people fill most beds in the intensive care units. Tegnell did not want to know anything about a change of course this week: he still thinks Sweden’s strategy is successful.

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The Swedish approach is closely monitored, particularly in the neighboring countries of Scandinavia, Norway and Denmark, both of which reacted early to the disease with strict restrictions. In Norway, 54 people had died of the coronavirus by Friday, in Denmark 139. However, Sweden has twice as many inhabitants as Denmark or Norway, and although Sweden’s case numbers have been growing faster than neighboring countries for a few days, it is still unclear whether it will Infection curve may be just a few days ahead of the neighbors.

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