Sweden’s top epidemiologist admits ‘no lockdown’ policy caused too many deaths

Dr Anders Tegnell, the man behind Sweden’s coronavirus response, reportedly admitted that the decision to not impose strict lockdown and restrictions on movement has resulted in too many deaths. Dr Tegnell told Swedish radio that there is “quite obviously a potential” for improvement in the action taken by the government.

Sweden has reported 41,883 confirmed cases of coronavirus and over 4,500 deaths related to the infectious disease so far. On June 3, it reported the highest single-day jump with 2,214 COVID-19 cases, a sharp rise from 775 cases a day earlier. The deaths in Sweden has been too high compared to the neighbouring countries that imposed strict lockdowns to contain the virus.

Norway, Finland, and Denmark, the other Nordic countries, have together reported less than 28,000 cases of coronavirus and less than 1,200 deaths so far. Dr Tegnell had earlier defended the decision saying the high death toll was mainly due to the elderly homes that failed to keep the virus out.

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'Always room for improvement'

The state epidemiologist has now said that the government, with an advantage of hindsight, would settle on a middle ground of what Sweden did and what the rest of the world has done. However, he didn’t elaborate on what the government should have done differently and later, at a press conference, asserted that they still think the strategy was right.

“We still believe that our strategy is good, but there is always room for improvement. ... You can always get better at this job,” said Dr Tegnell.

Last month, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven defended the strategy even after more than 3,500 had lost their lives to the deadly virus. Addressing foreign correspondents in Stockholm, Lofven said that many people are staying at home, which has had a positive effect on limiting the spread of the virus.

“Of course, we are painfully aware that too many people have lost their lives due to COVID-19," he added.

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(Inputs / Image: AP)