Swedish-Style Quarantine Measures, Success?..."Significant Slowdown in COVID-19 Spread"

Sweden, Once Suspected of Herd Immunity, Manages COVID-19 Stably
Success of Sustainable Social Distancing Policies

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Amid growing concerns about a second wave of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in Europe, Sweden is drawing attention as its spread is being managed steadily. Analysts attribute this to the success of social distancing efforts that do not rely on lockdowns.

Anders Tegnell, Director of the Swedish Public Health Agency
[Photo by Reuters]

According to data cited by the British daily The Guardian on the 16th (local time) from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in Sweden over the past 14 days is 22.2. This is significantly lower compared to Spain's 279, France's 158.5, the Czech Republic's 118, Belgium's 77, and the United Kingdom's 59.

Moreover, according to the Swedish government, the positive rate was only 1.2% after testing 120,000 people.

In a recent interview, Anders Tegnell, head of Sweden's public health agency and the person responsible for COVID-19 prevention, stated, "We are not seeing a resurgence like that observed in other countries," adding, "This ultimately shows how much of a difference sustainable prevention measures can make." He explained that the results reflect the success of sustainable infectious disease control policies rather than extreme measures such as lockdowns.

Unlike other European countries that implemented strict lockdown policies, Sweden responded to COVID-19 with relatively lenient social distancing measures and has faced questions about whether it was pursuing herd immunity.

Herd immunity refers to a state where 50-75% of the population has immunity to an infectious disease, preventing further spread. Critics have suggested that Sweden might have intentionally refrained from aggressively suppressing the spread of COVID-19 in hopes of reaching this state.

Regarding this, Sweden has consistently stated that it did not pursue herd immunity. While lockdowns can curb the spread, Sweden argued that indefinite lockdowns are unsustainable and therefore not a viable long-term solution.

For this reason, Sweden adopted a strategy that balanced economic activity with disease prevention. As a result, elementary schools and childcare facilities for preschool children remained open, as did indoor sports facilities, restaurants, and pubs. This contrasts with other European countries that closed all but essential stores such as pharmacies. Additionally, Sweden's social distancing strategy has been based more on citizen participation than on legal regulations. Naturally, the recent stabilization of COVID-19 is far from herd immunity, as antibody formation at levels sufficient for herd immunity has not been achieved.

However, while Sweden's strategy has recently received positive evaluations, it was also criticized at times. Although the spread has stabilized recently, there was controversy during the spring COVID-19 outbreak due to failures in preventing infections in elderly care facilities, resulting in many deaths among the elderly. Furthermore, although the spread is slowing, some analysts say more time is needed to determine whether Sweden's strategy has been successful. Sweden ranks 36th in the world with 8,660 COVID-19 cases per one million people and 13th with 579 deaths per one million people. For reference, South Korea had 442 infections and 7 deaths per one million people.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.