Sweden’s Dr. Anders Tegnell has admitted that the decision that Sweden not impose a strict lockdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic has led to too many deaths. Swedes were advised to maintain social distancing, but there had been no lockdown.

Sweden had left it’s schools and kindergartens open. It had not it’s shut restaurants or bars. A number of movie theatres had even been left open, with the population ‘trusted’ to exercise social distancing voluntarily.

Dr. Tegnell, the man behind the policy, in April, said that the high death toll was mainly because homes for the elderly had been unsuccessful at keeping the coronavirus at bay. People aged over 80 have made up 66 percent of those who have died from coronavirus in Sweden. He emphasised that that “does not disqualify our strategy as a whole”.

Sweden has witnessed a far higher mortality rate than its neighbours. It has seen 4 542 deaths and 40 803 infections in a population of 10 million. Denmark, Norway and Finland imposed lockdowns and have seen far lower rates. Denmark has seen 580 deaths, Norway 237, and Finland 321. Sweden reported a further 74 deaths on Wednesday.

According to the BBC, when asked if too many people had died too soon, Dr Tegnell said, “Yes, absolutely.” He maintains, however, that it was too early to say whether the (other countries) lockdowns had worked or not.

As Denmark and Norway have begun opening up, there has been growing criticism of Sweden’s response. Dr. Tegnell and his family are also reported to have received death threats via email.

Umm Muhammed Umar