Former state epidemiologist: There was no strategy for elderly care

Annika Linde was Sweden's state epidemiologist between 2005 and 2013 and is now a member of the Stockholm regional council for the Liberals.

She initially looked favorably at the Public Health Agency's handling of the corona virus, but began to reevaluate the Swedish strategy as the infection spread in the elderly care.

- There was no strategy at all for the elderly, I understand afterwards. I do not understand how to stand and say that preparedness was good when in fact it is lousy, she says.

According to Annika Linde, one of the authorities' significant leaks was that they initially started with the seasonal flu when deciding how to deal with the corona virus.

- It has been found that the corona virus does not behave like the flu at all. It spreads more slowly and has a longer incubation time. This makes it more difficult to detect and to gain immunity in the population, she says.

With fact in hand, it would have been better if Sweden had imitated its Nordic neighboring countries and closed the border and invested in testing and infection tracking to a much greater extent, says Linde.

- There are countries that have managed to keep the infection down for a long time by just testing and tracking. If you can continue that way until next year, when there is a vaccine, you save lives and allow a well-functioning social function.

Annika Linde notes that the corona crisis is far from over and that it is important to plan ahead. Among other things, she sees that the restrictions and strategy may need to be adapted to the situation in different parts of the country.

- People who live in areas where the infection has not yet taken off risk becoming tired of the restrictions and become less cautious in the future. We need to revise a strategy that allows you to prevent the spread of clusters in the long run, ”she says.