Stockholm (AFP)

Sweden, which has drawn attention with its less strict strategy against the coronavirus, finds itself once again isolated in its fight against the epidemic, continuing for the time being to shun the mask.

While Paris has made it compulsory to wear a mask in all its streets, in Stockholm, few people wear it in supermarkets, offices, buses and subways.

Only a handle bends for its use.

If the Swedish health authorities deem it insufficiently effective, they insist on respecting social distancing and regular hand washing.

"I find that a little strange. In Sweden, which is a small country, they think they know better than the rest of the world", judge Jenny Ohlsson, manager of an accessories store in the Swedish capital, where the 'there are all kinds of colorful fabric masks.

Unlike the devices imposed in the rest of Europe, Sweden has not confined its population and has kept cafes, bars, restaurants and businesses open, asking everyone to "take responsibility".

The results are questionable: with more than 5,800 deaths and 84,000 cases, Sweden is among the countries most affected in relation to its population.

But, unlike many countries in Europe which are experiencing an upsurge in new cases, such as France, the Netherlands, Germany or Belgium, data for Sweden has been declining since June.

- Trust science?

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Faced with this trend, the health authorities see no reason for the moment to change their strategy, including concerning masks.

The epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, face of this assumed Swedish strategy, considers that its effectiveness remains to be proven.

Misused or mishandled, the mask could also contaminate the person wearing it, he defends.

"There are at least three weighty reports, from the World Health Organization, ECDC (European Health Agency) and The Lancet that the WHO cites, all of which claim that the scientific evidence is weak ", explains the researcher.

KK Cheng, epidemiologist at the Birmingham Institute for Applied Health Research, denounces him a logic "irresponsible" and "stubborn".

"If those who think like him are wrong, it costs lives. But if I'm wrong, what damage does it do?" Pleads this supporter of wearing a mask.

Anders Tegnell prefers to insist on the drop in figures since the improvement of conditions in retirement homes, which recorded a large number of deaths at the start of the epidemic, combined with increased compliance with recommendations such as teleworking.

"Trying to replace these measures with masks will not work," he said.

"Several countries that have introduced masks are now experiencing a sharp upsurge," he said in mid-August on public television.

- About the northern neighbors -

While Sweden's northern neighbors have shied away from wearing masks for so long, they all changed course in mid-summer.

Finland now recommends wearing a mask in public places, Norway advises it on public transport in its capital Oslo, and Denmark has made it compulsory in public transport and taxis.

In June, around 20 doctors and researchers signed a column in the daily Aftonbladet to ask Anders Tegnell and the Swedish Public Health Agency to reconsider health policy in the face of the mask.

Faced with this regularly repeated call since, the authorities say "keep an eye on" the issue and could introduce the measure if deemed necessary.

It remains to be seen whether the transmission of Covid-19 in Sweden will continue to decline.

In front of Jenny Ohlsson's mask shop, Gilbert Sylwander, a 69-year-old Stockholmer, contemplates the choice of colors available to him.

The 60-year-old says he has confidence in the strategy led by the Swedish public health agency.

What if we had to wear a mask tomorrow?

"Of course I would," he retorts, "just to be polite to others."

© 2020 AFP