As other countries face renewed outbreaks, Sweden’s latest Covid-19 figures suggest it’s rapidly bringing the virus under control.
“That Sweden has come down to these levels is very promising,” state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell told reporters in Stockholm on Tuesday.
The Health Agency of Sweden says that since hitting a peak in late June, the infection rate has fallen sharply. That’s amid an increase in testing over the period. “The curves are going down and the curves for the seriously ill are beginning to approach zero,” Tegnell said.
The development follows months of controversy over Sweden’s decision to avoid a full lockdown. The unusual strategy coincided with a much higher Covid-19 mortality rate than elsewhere in the Nordic region. Per 100,000, Swedish deaths even exceeded those in the U.S. and Brazil.
On Tuesday, Sweden reported two new deaths, bringing the total to 5,702.
Masks Tegnell also broached the subject of face masks, which the World Health Organization recommends people use when social distancing isn’t possible.
“With numbers diminishing very quickly in Sweden, we see no point in wearing a face mask in Sweden, not even on public transport,” he said.
Tegnell has consistently argued that Sweden’s approach is more sustainable than the sudden lockdowns imposed elsewhere. With the risk that Covid-19 might be around for years, he says completely shutting down society isn’t a long-term option.
Meanwhile, many countries that thought they’d brought the virus under control are now seeing second waves. Tegnell called those developments “worrying.”
#1: Gatlin To: The Impenetrable Stonehead, A Self-Professed Ignorant Nonbeliever (#0)
Gatlin posted on 2020-08-11 10:56:21 Reply Private Reply
#2: Gatlin To: The Impenetrable Stonehead, A Self-Professed Ignorant Nonbeliever (#1)
Gatlin posted on 2020-08-11 10:57:08 Reply Private Reply
#3: Gatlin To: The Impenetrable Stonehead, A Self-Professed Ignorant Nonbeliever (#2)
Gatlin posted on 2020-08-11 10:58:04 Reply Private Reply
#4: Gatlin To: The Impenetrable Stonehead, A Self-Professed Ignorant Nonbeliever (#3)
Gatlin posted on 2020-08-11 10:58:38 Reply Private Reply
#5: Gatlin To: The Impenetrable Stonehead, A Self-Professed Ignorant Nonbeliever (#4)
Gatlin posted on 2020-08-11 10:59:46 Reply Private Reply
#6: Gatlin To: The Impenetrable Stonehead, A Self-Professed Ignorant Nonbeliever (#5)
Gatlin posted on 2020-08-11 11:00:39 Reply Private Reply
#7: Gatlin To: The Impenetrable Stonehead, A Self-Professed Ignorant Nonbeliever (#6)
Gatlin posted on 2020-08-11 11:01:30 Reply Private Reply
#8: Gatlin To: The Impenetrable Stonehead, A Self-Professed Ignorant Nonbeliever (#7)
Google: Evidence is growing, but what will it take to prove masks slow the spread of COVID-19?
Gatlin posted on 2020-08-11 11:02:22 Reply Private Reply
#9: Gatlin To: The Impenetrable Stonehead, A Self-Professed Ignorant Nonbeliever (#8)
Yes – I know.
The shockingly “BIG NUMBER TEN” is yet to come.
Wait for it …
Gatlin posted on 2020-08-11 11:03:33 Reply Private Reply
#10: Deckard To: Gatlin, A K A Stone (#3)
You sound more and more like your ole pal yukon with every post...you just know bigger words than he did.
Just wondering - Did you swallow a thesaurus and shit that post out? Hilarious watching you melt down and squander all of your allotted posts on what amounts to a childish tantrum. A smart guy would choose his words and battles wisely.
Deckard posted on 2020-08-11 11:48:09 Reply Private Reply
#11: Deckard To: Gatlin, A K A Stone (#7)
Tragedy, huh?
In Sweden, Where There Was No Lockdown, COVID Cases & Deaths Have Slowed to a Trickle
Deckard posted on 2020-08-11 12:11:32 Reply Private Reply