Sweden has a low seven-day incidence compared to other countries.
Almost all corona measures were lifted in the country.
Stockholm - Sweden has so far been going its own way in dealing with the corona virus.
In contrast to its neighboring countries, the country relied on no lockdown, hardly any restrictions and the individual responsibility of the population.
As one of the first countries in Europe, Sweden lifted almost all corona restrictions in early September 2021.
While Germany is struggling with an incidence of 263.6 (as of November 12), the seven-day incidence of Sweden is 51.8 (as of November 12).
On Freedom Day in Sweden, the reported value was 41.4 - the Swedish incidence has thus been at a comparatively low level and has been for months.
+
Compared to other European countries, Sweden does not have to struggle with a high incidence value.
© XinHua / dpa
Corona in Sweden: lifting of the measures
At the beginning of September, Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren named the country's “successful vaccination campaign” as the reason for lifting the corona measures. One had "come a long way" in dealing with the pandemic. This successful vaccination campaign could be one reason why the number of cases in Sweden is so low despite the few measures taken. According to the Swedish Ministry of Health, 81.2 percent of people over 16 are fully vaccinated.
In relation to the total population, this corresponds to a vaccination rate of 68.49 percent.
This puts Sweden just ahead of Germany with a vaccination rate of 67.43 percent.
The difference could, however, lie in the distribution of vaccinations among the individual age groups.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, around 85.6 percent of people over 60 in Germany are fully vaccinated against Corona.
In Sweden this rate is slightly higher.
Sweden's vaccination rate by age group
Age group | Vaccination rate (fully vaccinated) |
|---|---|
60 to 69 year olds | 90.5 percent |
70 to 79 year olds | 93.2 percent |
80-89 year olds | 93 percent |
over 90 year olds | 89 percent |
The higher vaccination rate among the elderly could explain why Sweden has not seen an increase in intensive care and deaths since Freedom Day.
However, these data do not explain why hardly any infections are noticeable in the rest of the population.
Hardly any corona measures: Individual responsibility of the Swedish population
But there are other factors that may have prevented the increase in infections in Sweden so far.
Even at the beginning of the pandemic, the Swedish government relied on the people to take responsibility for themselves.
During the second and third waves of infections, there were stricter measures with regard to public life and for other areas, such as personal meetings, but the government only made recommendations.
Many Swedes seemed to have adhered to them.
Even now there is mainly advice for the unvaccinated.
According to the health authorities, these should avoid large crowds and also not have closer physical contact with people from risk groups.
Sweden's low population density: an advantage in the pandemic
In contrast to Germany, Sweden also has the advantage of low population density.
There are just 10.4 million inhabitants on around 450,000 square kilometers in Sweden.
In Germany, however, there are 83.1 million people who live on around 360,000 square kilometers.
And as learned in the corona pandemic, the coronavirus can spread more poorly if people are more likely to get out of the way and less often to get together in narrow spaces.
Great Britain and Denmark show that such a special approach can also backfire.
For example, the seven-day incidence on November 12 was 355.9 in the United Kingdom and 295.9 in Denmark.
An increase in infections was observed in both countries after their Freedom Day.
Sweden's special approach not only brought advantages
However, Sweden's special path also shows a downside.
In the course of the pandemic, around 1.2 million people were infected with the coronavirus and around 15,000 died.
Compared to Germany, more people in Sweden died of the corona virus than in Germany.
Accordingly, it remains to be seen whether Sweden will win the fight against Corona with its special path.
(jsch)
List of rubric lists: © XinHua / dpa
