Anders Tegnell, a Swedish epidemiologist, was the man who convinced the government to not go into lockdown.
The borders are still open, cities, schools, hairdressers and restaurants are still going but only allow gatherings of up to 50.
Many other countries have denied the herd immunity approach but the Swedish are still able to go about their lives as relatively normal. There have been many critics of Tegnells decision, with some scientists saying 100,000 people will die by summer, but the number of daily deaths is stable at about 75 and is seemingly declining whilst the number of patients in intensive care is almost none existent.
“I think in many ways the strategy in Sweden is quite similar to other countries,” Tegnell said.
“We are trying to keep the spread of the disease as low as possible, mainly to prevent our healthcare system from being overstretched, but we have not gone for the complete lockdown. We have managed to keep the number of cases low enough so the intensive care units have kept working and there has always been 20 per cent beds empty and enough protective equipment even in Stockholm where there has been a huge stress on healthcare. So in that way the strategy has worked.”
But you might still be wondering, why exactly aren’t they on lockdown? “Because we really believed that the methods we used would reach almost the same effect in Sweden” he said.
“We don’t have huge gatherings or sport and music events. We have quite strict rules even for those organising gatherings for fewer than 50 people. They should be outside if possible and there should be handwashing and disinfectant; people coming are absolutely not allowed in if they have any symptoms. Elderly people above 70 should not be allowed either.”
He seems to have done a good job in Sweden, but he doesn’t criticise or look down on different countries, because every different place has different needs and requirements in time’s like this; no two places are the same.
