Tegnell: “We are convinced that this is the right way ”

Tegnell responds to criticism of the public health authority’s actions

— People are being infected by the new coronavirus, while other European countries are taking increasingly stringent measures to stop the spread.
But in Sweden, the fight against the virus is still based on voluntariness and information.
– We are convinced that this is the right way, says state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell in Aktuellt.

40 percent of the world’s population is urged to stay at home. Many wonder whether Sweden’s relatively mild methods of stopping the spread of infection are sufficient, or whether action should be taken in the same way as countries that have introduced stricter quarantine rules. Finland, for example, which has quarantined the entire Uusimaa region (which includes Helsinki).

But according to Anders Tegnell, there is currently no reason to follow the example of Finland, or other European countries.

– I’m not so sure that they have reached that much further than us. There is nothing to suggest that. I think it is important that you continue to use the means that you know work, in other countries you have other traditions where it may be necessary to use laws, for example.
“Everyone will end up in crises”

At the same time, Anders Tegnell does not rule out that it may be necessary to take tougher measures against the virus in the future:

– All countries will end up in different types of crises. I think it is important to think about what suits us.

It is still too early to answer the question of when corona will cease to be a major problem for Sweden and the world, but Anders Tegnell thinks that Sweden has so far coped with the crisis relatively well:

– Of course, everyone is worried, me too, about how this will develop.

– I’m not particularly worried that it will look very different in Sweden than in other countries. So far, the situation has developed fairly well in Sweden. Healthcare has worked with the efforts we have made.