Stockholm / Prague Unless there is an unexpected turnaround, the Czechia will catch up with Sweden in the coming days, with the number of victims, which became a bit of a symbol of the first wave of covid, when it did not significantly restrict the economy at that time. On the other hand, the state, led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES), costs billions of shops and services every day. However, nothing is free, the Scandinavian is now beginning to suffer from the second wave, and they too had to compromise on freedom. They probably didn’t get the group immunity they were betting on in the future.
A man who refused to close the country. It’s like killing a fly with a hammer, comments on covid measures ‘Swedish Prymula’ |
In recent days, the Swedes are the worst off in the Nordic countries and the spring scenario is repeated, although this time they also decided to at least partially reduce their lives, they can afford it, they survived the spring economically with minimal losses, even though good results were redeemed by human lives. . There are thousands of infections every day, while there is still relative calm in neighboring countries.
According to the well-known virologist Lena Einhorn, she marked it in response to a question serveru Financial Times for a dramatic failure and has no explanation for the current increases. She mentioned eight times the number of people infected per capita compared to Norway. The main epidemiologist Anders Tegnell is also shaking his head over this mystery.
Even during the summer, when the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 infection was balanced, it looked optimistic for him compared to other countries. If his vision were confirmed, the population could be more resilient, and the economy would not slow down significantly. Even before that, thanks to a different strategy, Sweden had become a much-discussed state, although during the advent of the covid, others saw it more as a deterrent and questioned its intention.
With a population of about 10.2 million, the country is comparable in population to the Czech Republic and has chosen the opposite tactic in the fight against a pandemic than most European countries from the beginning. The architect of the Swedish process, Anders Tegnell, rejected the local and national alternative to quarantine, which was approached by European states along the lines of China.
Tegnell argued that closing shops, cafes, schools and places where people meet in general is an unnecessary blow to the economy, because the virus will be with us permanently and we must learn to live with it. He called on citizens to act responsibly, after which the country’s leadership took only very mild measures. In contrast to the countries in the south of Europe, the typically cold nature of the local population, which is incomparable, for example, to the Spaniards or Italy, was also a success.
With the onset of the second wave, Sweden repeated the process, although in recent days the local government had to change and tighten its benevolent approach. The number of infected people has been growing in the last two weeks, with an increase of about 4,000 cases per day. In Friday alone, there were an additional 5,990 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection, which meant the most new cases since the beginning of the epidemic for the country. Another 42 people died with the covid-19 in Sweden on Friday.
Evenings without alcohol
From November 20 to the end of February next year, for example, it will not be allowed to sell alcohol in Sweden after 22:00. All businesses authorized to serve it, especially restaurants, bars and pubs, will have to close at 22:30. Residents of thirteen regions out of a total of 21 are recommended to work from home, avoid public transport and limit social contacts outside the family.
Sweden recorded the highest number of new infections last week, while Germany is tightening measures |
At least one of these recommendations concerns more than two thirds of Swedes. However, in most cases, the newly adopted measures are still at the level of personal responsibility. The Nordic country, for example, is the only one in the European Union that does not enforce mouth and nose protection in any area except hospital facilities.
In any case, Sweden has successfully managed to save its economy from a deeper decline: according to the latest autumn data of the European Union will fall by 3.4 percent, which is one of the lowest reductions ever. To illustrate, the forecast attributed a 12.4 percent drop to Spain, about 10 percent to Italy, about 7 percent to the Czech Republic and 5.6 percent to Germany. The European Union as a whole is projected to see gross domestic product fall by 7.4 percent. The forecast explicitly mentions the government’s approach as one of several key factors.
Coronavirus in Sweden has significant consequences, this year the most people died there in the last 150 years |
However, saving the economy also took its toll on the loss of life. With around 6,000 dead during the first wave, Sweden far exceeded the number of victims per covid from neighboring countries such as Denmark, Finland and Norway. In August, the country’s statistical office reported that most people died in the country in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in the last 150 years. It was a bet to gain immunity, but now it seems very uncertain.
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Immunity did not stop the second wave
The “Swedish Prymula” also placed hope in the summer in the great penetration of the population, which should logically have antibodies and be immune to infection. “Don’t judge Sweden until autumn comes,” Tegnell’s May words were quoted as saying by The Financial Times (FT) in their Thursday article.
But, as has been documented in many cases around the world, immunity is not always 100 percent and has a limited shelf life, most often scientists mention three months, even though research is still ongoing. “It’s a big mystery,” Anders Tegnell replied more cautiously on Wednesday to a question from Financial Times reporters about who has and who doesn’t have immunity and what affects it. The situation is developing differently than they thought in northern Europe.
“Now autumn has arrived and the number of hospitalizations with covid is growing faster in Sweden than anywhere else in Europe,” writes FT. The number of hospitalized is said to be doubling here every eight days. According to a government press conference held on Thursday, 130 people are in serious condition in intensive care units. In the Czech Republic, the current number of people in severe condition requiring intensive care is around 1000 people. In the attached chart you can see how the start of the epidemic in Sweden is delayed compared to the Czech Republic.
Daily newly confirmed cases of covid-19 per million people in Sweden and the Czech Republic. | photo: OurWorldInData (CC BY 4.0)
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The Financial Times writes that Sweden has already exceeded the point where other European countries have introduced a lockdown in the number of positive tests. One-fifth of all covid tests are positive here. In the total number of all covid tests performed, Sweden is again comparable to the Czech Republic. Both countries performed about 2,650,000 tests. In the Czech Republic, the share of positive tests against all performed during the peak of the second wave was around 30%, now, according to the latest data, it should fall to 20 percent.
The Czechia also reflected the escalating riskiness of the Nordic country on Friday by including Sweden among the red countries at the travel traffic light. The state thus requires a test on return.
“We are facing a situation that could turn black as night,” Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said this week. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Sweden has an average of 485 infected per 100,000 population in the last two weeks. In Finland it is 54, in Iceland 124, in Norway 140 and in Denmark 257. In the Czech Republic, on the other hand, this value is many times higher – 1283 infected per 100,000 inhabitants.
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