Sweden’s coronavirus deaths surged to 333 today, a jump of 18 per cent, as the country continued to resist calls from experts to enter a full lockdown.
Inhabitants of the Nordic country are still allowed to go to restaurants, get haircuts and send their children to school, unlike those in its European neighbours.
But experts have warned the liberal approach, which has aimed to minimise disruption, could lead to a cascade of cases overwhelming the health system.
Confirmed cases of Covid-19 have swelled in 17-days from three to 6,078, leading to warnings that more than a million Swedes could be infected.
Sweden’s stores remain open. Above is a busy shopping street in Stockholm on April 2
People pictured riding bikes in the Sodermalm district of Stockholm on April 1
As many as 2,300 academics signed an open letter to the government at the end of last month calling for much tougher measures, especially in the capital Stockholm where half the country’s deaths have been reported.
‘We don’t have a choice, we have to close Stockholm right now,’ said Cecilia Soderberg-Naucler, Professor of Microbial Pathogenesis at the Karolinska Institute.
‘We must establish control over the situation, we cannot head in to a situation where we get complete chaos. No one has tried this route, so why should we test it first in Sweden, without informed consent?’
She told The Guardian yesterday: ‘We’re not testing enough, we’re not tracking, we’re not isolating enough – we have let the virus loose.
‘They are leading us to catastrophe.’
Sweden reported its first three cases on March 16, and since then has seen numbers skyrocket to 6,078. The rise has prompted warnings half its population could be infected by the end of April.
There are growing signs the virus is spreading at elderly care homes, mainly in the capital, where some staff at hospitals and nursing homes have publicly warned of a lack of protective equipment such as masks.
The country’s head of the Health Agency, Anders Tegnell (centre), has refused to call for a lockdown as he said calling it too soon would lead to people disobeying the instruction
The area outside Stockholm’s city hall was virtually deserted on April 2
The government has instigated liberal measures, compared to its European neighbours, as it focuses on isolating and treating those who are infected.
They have also banned gatherings of more than 50 people, asked high schools and universities to teach online and advised against taking unnecessary trips.
Stockholm has also constructed a field hospital in a convention centre at the south of the city, to deal with a potential rise in cases.
Tom Britton, a mathematics professor from Stockholm University, warned yesterday that its possible a million Swedes are already infected.
He used these numbers to suggest that by the end of the month up to five million people could be infected. Pressure on hospitals will then peak two weeks earlier, around April 15.
‘China succeeded in [reducing its R value] by very comprehensive measures, and very quickly, so that less than 1 per cent will be infected in Wuhan,’ he said. ‘I am not convinced that we will be as effective in Sweden.’
The head of Sweden’s Health Agency, Anders Tegnell, has spearheaded these tactics saying it is important not to lockdown too soon.
‘It is important to have a policy that can be sustained over a longer period, meaning staying home if you are sick, which is our message,’ said Tegnell, who has received both threats and fan mail over the country’s handling of the crisis.
‘Locking people up at home won’t work in the longer term,” he said. “Sooner or later people are going to go out anyway.’
Sodermalm is seen on the background of Stockholm, Sweden, on April 2
Above is a general view of the country’s central station in Stockholm. The government has banned gatherings of more than 50 people
The centre-left Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has tightened restrictions in recent days – but refused to follow other European countries, arguing he can trust Swedes to act responsibly if they are unwell.
‘We all, as individuals, have to take responsibility,’ he said yesterday. ‘We can’t legislate and ban everything. It’s also a question of common sense.
‘We who are adults need to be exactly that: Adults. Not spread panic or rumours. No one is alone in this crisis, but each person has a heavy responsibility.’
The relaxed approach has caused consternation in neighbours Denmark, Finland and Norway – which have a combined lower death rate.
The WHO’s Europe branch said there were 464,859 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 30,098 deaths in the 53 countries that make up its region.
Some 80 per cent of those who died from the virus had at least one underlying illness, in particular cardiovascular disease and diabetes.