As Sweden reports nearly zero COVID deaths, experts criticise govt laxity over new variant

Sweden has recorded an aver of 0.6 COVID deaths per day from vel COVID-19 as world grapples to fight surge from hyper contagious Delta variant. Sweden's COVID-19 death toll was close to 'zero' as of Tuesday compared to  neighbouring rdic countries such as Denmark that recorded 2,550 fatalities, Finland with 982 death toll, and rway with 799 deaths. Sweden had controversially remained ‘mask-free and had shunned lockdown to “achieve coronavirus herd immunity”, a strategy widely criticized by health experts.

In April this year, king of Sweden lambasted country's anti-lockdown approach. In a statement to state broadcaster SVT King Carl XVI Gustaf had said number of deaths in Sweden was "terrible" and " people of Sweden have suffered tremendously” deuncing country’s lackadaisical approach during pandemic. And refore, having or option, Swedish people relied on voluntary health safety measures to reach “herd immunity” in order to mitigate severe impact of disease. 

Sweden's Chief epidemiologist negates US CDC

Swedish health officials, however, warned last week about surge in caseload of hypervirulent COVID-19 delta variant, that wreaked havoc in India. While health officials urged citizens to get iculated to deter expectant fourth wave of pandemic, Sweden’s Chief epidemiologist downplayed severity of  deadly Delta variant citing latest deaths figure. Sweden has recorded an aver of 0.6 COVID deaths per day, much lesser as compared to US, which recorded 329 deaths per day, and UK, where fatalities hit 74. 

Sweden scrapped mask mandate for public settings both indoor and outdoor in July amid warnings from US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that Delta variant was as infectious as chickenpox and masks were necessary. Country’s Chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell who designed Sweden’s containment strategies argued claim saying that re was 'a lot we do t kw' about Delta Variant in his statement to Aftonbladet newspaper.

'It is difficult to say how contagious Delta is, [as] when it comes to chickenpox, we have been able to follow disease for several years,” Tegnell said. Furrmore, he added, “ infectiousness [of Delta] seems to be very uneven – in some cases, one person infects a hundred people, n we have or occasions when an infected person does t infect anyone at all.”