While its Nordic neighbours have closed all schools and shops to fight the spread of coronavirus, Sweden’s latest decree in the crisis has been to impose table service-only in restaurants.
Sweden had 2,510 confirmed cases and 42 deaths from Covid-19 by Wednesday, though the real number of infected is likely higher after a shift in testing rules to focus on at-risk groups.
Unlike neighbouring Norway, Denmark and Finland, Sweden’s government has adopted a looser, more voluntary approach to the growing crisis.
Gatherings of up to 500 people are still permitted and only university and higher education have moved teaching online.
Primary schools remain operational as do ski resorts ahead of the looming spring break. Sweden’s Social Democratic government is recommending individual responsibility – suggesting people to limit their movements and self-isolate if they feel ill.
“There will be a few decisive moments in life when you must make sacrifices, not only for your own sake but also to take responsibility for those around you, for your fellow humans and for our country,” said prime minister Stefan Löfven. “That moment is now.”
So far Stockholm has resisted more stringent measures such as physical distancing rules or closure of non-essential shops, bars and restaurants. On Wednesday welfare minister Lena Hallengren apologised for the disruption likely to be caused by a new decree imposing table service-only in restaurants.
“We are aware this will impact on many businesses and employees, but the situation is serious and this will limit contagion,” she said.
Anders Tegnell, Swedish chief epidemiologist, has insisted the country’s measures are a reasonable approach towards an infection that is “here to stay”.
“What we are working on is trying to bring the infection in society down as much as possible, “ he said, “to flatten the curve and create a situation for healthcare services to continue to function”.
However this approach has sparked alarm among some virologists, who accuse the Swedish government of following an approach since abandoned by the UK government.
A leading mathematician who modelled the spread of the virus – focused around major cities like Stockholm and Malmö – has described the government’s approach as “a mad experiment with 10 million people”.
Joining the critical chorus, the leading Dagens Nyheter daily has accused the government of taking a “gamble” with the health of the population. “We cannot allow the human desperation in Wuhan and Bergamo to be repeated in Sweden,” it wrote in an editorial.
Climate-change activist Greta Thunberg has said she and her father have most likely had the virus. In an Instagram post she said they fell ill after a trip around central Europe, self-isolated for two weeks and urged her followers to do the same if they have symptoms.
“I almost didn’t feel ill, my last cold was worse than this . . . and this is what makes it so dangerous,” she said. “We who don’t belong to a risk group have an enormous responsibility; our actions can be the difference between life and death.”
