Sweden went a separate way in the corona pandemic. After rising criticism, state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell wants to stick to his strategy. The 64-year-old doesn't believe in a mask requirement.
- Sweden took a special route to contain the corona virus *.
- State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell was instrumental in this strategy.
- Now the 64-year-old has spoken in an interview - and has consistently ruled out a general mask requirement.
- Here you will find the Corona news from Germany as well as the current infection numbers as a card. All information on the subject is also available on our Facebook page Corona-News.
Stockholm - He is the Swedish Christian Drosten , the Scandinavian counterpart as the country's top virologist - Anders Tegnell . Like Drosten , the man from the university town of Uppsala is currently enjoying unusual attention. The corona pandemic has increased the focus on science enormously worldwide. However, there is a big difference between the two researchers: While Drosten was jointly responsible for the sometimes tough course including lockdown in Germany , Tegnell is in charge of the Swedish Sonderweg. The state epidemiologist relied more on personal responsibility than tough measures. Relaxation instead of lockdown .
This action, which is virtually unique in European comparison, polarized. Critics accused Tegnell of underestimating the situation and argued with a high death rate and a clear comparison with Scandinavia. Even if you look at the death rate per 100,000 inhabitants, Sweden comes off badly. While in Germany, statistically speaking, 11 people per 100,000 inhabitants die from the consequences of Covid-19 disease, in Sweden there are 56 and thus five times more. (As of August 6th).
Corona in Sweden: The strategy remains the same - "Result of masks surprisingly weak"
In the meantime, however, at least the number of infections is falling again in Sweden . The country with around 10 million inhabitants counted around 1,803 new corona cases per day on June 24 . There are now fewer than 400 new infections (source: Johns Hopkins University). So the situation is comparatively relaxed, time for Anders Tegnell to draw a little conclusion. In an interview with Bild (article behind the payment barrier), the 64-year-old defended his strategy and again provided some statements that you would probably not hear from some of his European colleagues.
"To believe that masks can solve our problem is very dangerous."
Anders Tegnell, Sweden's State EpidemiologistSo said Tegnell who holds a high status in the country, as a general mask duty in the country: "The result of which is obtained by the masks could produce is astounding weak, even though so many people carry them around the world. It surprises me that we don't have more or better studies of what effects the masks actually produce. Countries like Spain or Belgium have had their populations wear masks - despite this, the number of infections has increased. To believe that masks can solve our problem is very dangerous. "
Corona in Sweden: Country leaves schools open - "made no difference"
The state epidemiologist also has a clear opinion when it comes to school closings: “We are very happy that we were able to keep our schools open. This gave children in Sweden the opportunity to continue going to school. Our Finnish colleagues, like Germany , decided to close the school, but we left them open. ”This would not have had any negative consequences, because“ based on the data we have, we cannot say that there is any difference for the pandemic as such has made."
tvätta händera - wash your hands. Tegnell as an icon on a poster outside a restaurant in Stockholm. The gastronomy in Sweden can be open almost without restriction.
© AFP / JONATHAN NACKSTRAND
Corona in Sweden: Tegnell sticks to the Sonderweg: "It is tradition that we give the individual a lot of responsibility"
As was the case a few weeks earlier on Swedish television, Tegnell was also self-critical. Above all, he addressed the high death rate among the elderly: “Our major failure was in the area of long-term care and care for the elderly. The regional offices should have been better prepared, then there would have been fewer deaths. "
Leading scientists worldwide * fear that there could be a second wave of infections in (late) autumn . Should this scenario occur, Sweden and Tegnell will again rely on voluntariness, because "it is Swedish tradition that we give the individual a lot of responsibility." (As) * merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network