The coronavirus pandemic is handled differently in Sweden than in the rest of Europe. This leads to criticism - but also to admiration.
- The coronavirus pandemic * is particularly liberal in Sweden.
- The course of state virologist Anders Tegnell has been widely criticized.
- But is the country comparable to any other?
- Here you will find our Here our Corona Virus Reporting Guide *, the Sars CoV-2 Basic Facts *, the Case Numbers Map * for developments in Germany * and our “Corona News” * on Facebook.
Munich - Sweden's special route divides. State virologist Anders Tegnell is often criticized for his liberal assessment of the situation; the government is accused of risking the lives of thousands of people with a false hope of herd immunity. But despite open borders, open schools and family celebrations for Easter, the number of infections drops and the R-factor sinks to below one in early May.
Coronavirus in Sweden: Virologist relies on self-control by citizens
State virologist Anders Tegnell advises Sweden to adopt a liberal special path.
© AFP / JONATHAN NACKSTRAND
The 64-year-old relies on the self-control of citizens like hardly any other consulting virologist . Critics accuse him of paying this trust with extremely high fatalities. Twenty-two independent Swedish experts, for example, had called for Nyheter Tegnell's resignation in the national newspaper Dagens and called on the government to take stronger measures. This is reported by the Tagesspiegel .
In view of the increasing death toll and when it became known that the virus had spread to half of all Stockholm nursing homes, Sweden had to readjust the measures . In March, meetings with more than 50 people were banned. Visits to nursing homes prohibited in early April. A German doctor living in Sweden assesses the situation on site as critical: "It is too late for us to take measures".
Coronavirus: Sweden's death numbers cause criticism
So far, 3175 people in Sweden have died from the consequences of a Sars CoV-2 infection (Johns Hopkins University, as of May 9, 12.48 p.m.). On average, there are 310 fatalities per million inhabitants. In Germany the number is only 90.5. Compared to the pandemic-shaken lockdown countries like Italy (500) or Spain (560), Sweden is doing well. "The pandemic is gradually subsiding," Tegnell told Swedish broadcaster SVT at the beginning of May .
At the same time, the side effects of the pandemic measures are lower than in other countries. The consequences of domestic violence or suicide as part of the lockdown, which have so far been little discussed in Germany, are lower due to the liberal measures in Sweden. In view of the strict measures taken by other European countries, Sweden hardly has to deal with violations of fundamental rights.
Corona crisis in Sweden: Economic losses are devastating
Economically, Sweden is hit just as hard as the other European countries. In the Stockholm city , many smaller shops are closed, factory bands stand still and the GDP is expected to slump between seven and nine percent. The rbb reports .
Video: 2,700 Covid 19 deaths in early May, but 70% of Swedes trust their government
Coronavirus: is Sweden comparable to countries like Germany?
However, experts have repeatedly pointed out that the Swedish special route also comes with special conditions. With 10.23 million inhabitants on 450,295 square kilometers of land, Sweden has a very low population density of 22.3 inhabitants per square kilometer. For comparison: In Germany, 83.02 million people live on 357,386 square kilometers (232.3 inhabitants per square kilometer). The state capital Stockholm with less than a million inhabitants is also the largest city in the country.
Also can be Sweden culturally difficult to compare with the southern European nations. Social contacts played a different role there, explains Quarks.de . Hugs and shaking hands are also not necessarily good manners there.
It remains to be seen whether the Swedish government with its open reluctance and Andreas Tegnell with his special path will be successful. Transferring the model to other countries is likely to be difficult.
nai
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
Rubric list image: © AFP / JONATHAN NACKSTRAND