Second Wave, Same Strategy: Swedish COVID-19 Czar Defiant Despite Surge

[appalachiablue]

Source: Reuters

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden remains steadfast in its strategy of voluntary measures and no lockdowns, the architect of its unorthodox COVID-19 response said on Friday, as the country battles a growing second wave of a disease that has now killed more than 6,000 Swedes.

The Nordic nation of 10 million people, whose soft-touch approach to combating the virus has drawn worldwide attention - and harsh domestic criticism from some - has seen a surge in the number of cases, hospitalisations and deaths in recent weeks. At 5,990, the number of new cases reported on Friday was the highest since the start of the pandemic. A further 42 deaths were also recorded, the most for around three months.

The strategy, however, will not change. "No, we will keep on this path," Chief Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell told Reuters in a telephone interview on Friday. "This is how we work in Sweden. We have big understanding for this and a huge adherence to the rules."

In contrast to many other countries, Sweden has kept schools, restaurants and other businesses open throughout the pandemic. Instead, it has focused on voluntary measures aimed at promoting social distancing and good hygiene, such as working from home if possible, avoiding public transport and crowded indoor activities...

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-sweden-tegnell/second-wave-same-strategy-swedish-covid-19-czar-defiant-despite-surge-idUSKBN27T2R1

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[SunSeeker]

1. The only thing that has saved this idiot is that Swedes naturally socially distance.

Almost half work from home and more live alone than any other country in Europe.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. So anyone still want to keep waving them around like a flag for "what to do"?

[appalachiablue]

3. Not here, I read too much about this. In the 1990s Sweden

took a bad turn towards libertarian privatization- senior homes, etc, and had to do a U-turn after the failures.

This man Anders seems determined, even rigid in the face of facts and criticism. Crazy stuff.

[erronis]

5. "rigid". That's a good word for describing many Scandinavians and germans who now populate

the central part of the USA. Good farmer stock - just like their hogs, cattle, crops.

Follow what your ancestors did. Don't fix what ain't broken. Listen to the banker and the mayor/governor.

You betcha.

[appalachiablue]

9. Well said, good stock 'like the hogs and cattle' tee-hee..

I don't know that many Nordics and try not to generalize, but sometimes it's unavoidable- like when the shoe fits.

[erronis]

11. Spent way too much time in the mid-west during my youth. Glad to be back with people

that are able to contemplate different viewpoints rather than be fed chow.

[RelativelyJones]

12. "...just like their hogs, cattle". Nice ethnic slur. You must be very proud of yourself.

[mr_lebowski]

16. So are you saying racism against White People is a thing?

I try to keep abreast of developments on this front.

I'm 1/4 Swedish myself, so ...

[RelativelyJones]

18. Yeah, it seems to be fine to denigrate some ethnicities around here. That's complete bullshit.

[obamanut2012]

20. There is literally no way to be racist against white people in the way you suggest

[RelativelyJones]

21. Complete BS. But go with that and see how far it gets you.

[obamanut2012]

19. Care to point out the non-existent "ethnic slur"?

[RelativelyJones]

22. Sure, it's just fine to compare people of Germanic descent to hogs. Classy.

[LanternWaste]

23. Unless JK Rowling does so.

Or when Brexit becomes the mechanism of bigotry. Then it receives all sorts of bizarre justifications...

[BumRushDaShow]

6. When you have someone like this go so far out on the limb

with no exit strategy that gives them a trap door to flee through to save face, then this is the result. Oddly, Boris Johnson went out on a limb too but then managed to wrangle the crazy in enough to calibrate his response after he got out of the hospital, in contrast to similar despots who experienced the disease first hand.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. That extended to banking too

and although I never looked at in in detail, that's when their big conglomerates hit the skids. Husqvarna (which has changed hands a couple times and split off this or that since then), SAAB, Volvo. I think Electrolux emerged unscathed, but owned parts of Husqvarna for awhile, which now owns much of the chainsaw world (Poulan, McCullough, Jonsred). Ford bought Volvo and sold it to China I think, SAAB out of business. Electrolux meanwhile has gobbled up our vacuum brands (Eureka among others). All began with bank loans, Sweden was like an early feasibility study.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Husqvarna_Group

[appalachiablue]

10. Right, Boris did bend some and the banking in Sweden went

down with the libertarian ship. That movement concerns me, the rapid growth and ideology in the last 30+ years and the Ayn Rand 'sacrifice the weak' scary eugenics stuff.

[appalachiablue]

14. So Sweden messed around with banking and brand corporations

in their libertarian experiment as swell. I wonder if Anders, the medical expert was influenced by that era or not in terms of Herd Immunity and social Darwinism, need to check his wiki.

[genxlib]

4. I've been having that argument with a Conservative friend all day

Ironic that the Libertarians are holding up the Swedes as a model for how to manage individual liberty. No mention of socialism anywhere in the discussion.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. This "Liberty" nonsense is completely distorted to be nothing more than a "symbol"

rather than "reality".

But then using their argument, the burglar should have the "freedom" to steal your personal items from your house, and they are quick to note that the burglar must also "suffer the consequences" of doing that too.

But in the case of a very contagious and virulent disease, I don't want to hear their "symbolic" crap because they are doing nothing but "stealing life" from someone else due to their selfishness.

[appalachiablue]

15. Selfish is the essence of libertarians, and freedum to steal

just an MO to hoard more wealth. About Boris, yes he was clever and sensible enough to pull back from the nutty, selfish Herd Immunity policy when things began going bad and after his own experience. I'm glad Cummings is gone, we'll see how Johnson's conservative rule plays out.

[steelyboo]

13. mmm, ba-dic-a-doo, ba-dic-a-doo, DUMB, DUMB, DUMB

I would trust Camilla the Chicken over that guy.

[mr_lebowski]

17. Scientifically I think it's useful to see what happens there honestly ...

They're a functioning democracy, it's up to them to decide what to do/how to handle it.

It's probably good that SOME country is testing out the viability of this approach. Never know, it may turn out to be the way everyone should've gone all along. I don't think that's LIKELY, but it's possible.

Course that's easy for me to say ... while I'm 1/4 Swedish, I don't know anybody there.