Coronavirus: the self-criticized Swedish strategy, at a glance

Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, in charge of coordinating the fight against the coronavirus in Sweden, during his press briefing on June 3, 2020. TT News Agency / Andres Wiklund via REUTERS

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No strict confinement, schools cafes bars and restaurants open, and a call to individual responsibility ... only prohibited: gatherings of more than 50 people and visits to retirement homes. this flexible method of managing the epidemic is currently the subject of debate in Sweden. And the country's chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell finally did yesterday on this strategy on Wednesday, which is akin to half a mea culpa.

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With his thin glasses on a face topped with gray hair dotted with white locks, Anders Tegnell is the face of the Swedish strategy to fight the virus. Between press conferences - several times a week - and interventions in the media, the chief epidemiologist of Sweden has been explaining and defending for weeks this unique choice in Europe not to impose confinement.

But for the first time, the doctor emitted flats, of size, on the antenna of the Swedish public radio. "  If we were to encounter the same disease with everything we know about it today, I think we would end up doing something between what Sweden and the rest of the world have done,  " he said.

With just over 10 million inhabitants, Sweden has counted 4,542 Covid-19 deaths. It's too much, recognized Anders Tegnell. This is also the opinion of the Scandinavian neighbors of Sweden who have closed their borders with the country. The government continues to repeat it anyway: this fight against the virus is a marathon, not a sprint.

Under pressure from the opposition, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven had to resolve to launch a commission of inquiry  into the management of the health crisis before the summer.

► Read also : In Europe, from North to South, reopening of the borders à la carte 

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  • Sweden
  • Coronavirus
  • Health and Medicine

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