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  • Nordic countries. Sweden: too many dead for the world's "best" anti-pandemic strategy

Nearly 4,500 dead later, Sweden has admitted for the first time that the strategy chosen to deal with the coronavirus, much looser than in the rest of Europe, was probably not the most appropriate. In an interview with state radio, Swedish chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell has stated that more restrictions should have been implemented from the start.

"If we ran into this disease again knowing what we know now, I think we would have placed ourselves somewhere in the middle between what we have done and what the rest of the world has done," said Tegnell, head of the fight anti-pandemic in your country. "I think there is clearly potential for improvement. And it's good to know more precisely what needs to be closed to slow the spread of contagion."

On this occasion, Tegnell has put aside the usual justification that Sweden has suffered more deaths in these months than its neighbors because later on it will be better protected against a possible second wave. His response to the question of whether "too many people died too soon" has been unequivocal: "Yes, there is no doubt. It is something we have to think about in the future: if it could have been avoided in any way ."

So far, 4,468 people (443 per million inhabitants) have died in Sweden, almost 80% of all fatalities in the Nordic countries despite having only 37.5% of its population. In the last week, 343 deaths have been recorded , while in Denmark and Finland there have been 17 and eight, respectively, by none in Norway and Iceland.

It should be remembered, however, that Tegnell, although confident that his plan was appropriate, always clarified that he could not be sure that it was, unlike his mentor, the prestigious Swedish epidemiologist Johan Giesecke, adviser to the Government and of the World Health Organization (WHO). In mid-May, Giesecke still claimed that the Swedish strategy was "the best in the world" because, in addition, it also looked after the health of the economy, something that is also questioned now, given that the global characteristics of the crisis they also affect Sweden.

"The main difference between us and the rest of the countries was that the vast majority closed everything at the same time," said Tegnell. "We were one of the few places where a gradual closure was applied. The rest implemented colossal restrictions from the first moment. The problem with that method is that it is not known which measures are the most effective."

As chief epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency (FHM), Tegnell has been the main protagonist in the Swedish fight against covid-19. Initially, its popularity was enormous, but in recent weeks it seems to be declining as the death toll grows. The FHM has great autonomy from the Government , much greater than in other European countries, so the role of the Prime Minister, the Social Democrat Stefan Löfven, has hardly been questioned beyond some accusations by the opposition that hides behind Tegnell. In fact, according to surveys, voter support for Löfven has increased during the crisis,

Confidence in the chief epidemiologist had already suffered a severe blow in late May when her predecessor in the post, Annika Linde, said that she did not think that the Swedish strategy would give the best long-term results, precisely what was being repeated with insistence from the FHM. "We should have done more tests (Sweden is by far the Nordic country that has done the least tests ), and our nursing homes, which is where almost half of all deaths have been registered, have not been at all prepared to cope to a pandemic, "said Linde. "The problem was underestimated, which has been a clear mistake."

Linde, who was chief epidemiologist from 2005 to 2013, nevertheless wanted to give Tegnell a cable: "I must admit that, at the beginning of everything, I also thought that our strategy seemed good, so I cannot presume that I was saying it already me".

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