Sweden's king says 'we have failed' over COVID-19, as deaths mount

 

FILE PHOTO: Sweden's King Carl Gustaf poses for a photo before recording his annual Christmas Day speech to the nation, at Stockholm Castle, Sweden, December 16, 2019. Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency/via REUTERS

 

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden's king said his country had failed in its handling of COVID-19, in a sharp criticism of a pandemic policy partly blamed for a high death toll among the elderly.

 

Carl XVI Gustaf, whose son and daughter-in-law tested positive last month, used an annual royal Christmas TV special to highlight the growing impact of the virus, in a rare intervention from a monarch whose duties are largely ceremonial.

 

Sweden has stood out from most countries by shunning lockdowns and face masks, leaving schools, restaurants and businesses largely open and relying mainly on voluntary social distancing and hygiene recommendations to slow the spread.

 

An official commission said on Tuesday systemic shortcomings in elderly care coupled with inadequate measures from the government and agencies contributed to Sweden's particularly high death toll in nursing homes.

 

Sweden's king said his country had failed in its handling of COVID-19, in a sharp criticism of a pandemic policy partly blamed for a high death toll among the elderly. Maha Albadrawi reports.

 

"I believe we have failed," the king said in an excerpt from the programme broadcast by SVT on Wednesday. The full show airs on Dec. 21.

 

"We have had a large number of deaths and that is terrible. That is something that brings us all suffering."

 

Sweden has registered more than 7,800 deaths, a much higher per capita rate than its Nordic neighbours but lower than in Britain, Italy, Spain or France, which have all opted for lockdowns. 

 

The 74-year-old king has no formal political power and rarely comments on current and political issues, though he has addressed the nation to offer encouragement during the outbreak.

 

In the spring, the government's response to the pandemic was widely supported by Swedes who carried on much as normal while most of Europe entered lockdown.

 

But the rising death toll - particularly among elderly residents of care homes - has drawn increasing criticism.

 

A poll in daily Dagens Nyheter on Thursday showed around a third of Swedes expressed a high level of confidence in authorities' handling of the pandemic, down from 42% in March and a peak of 56% after the summer lull in infections.

 

(Reporting by Andrew Heavens)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-12-18

 

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No sheet Sherlock, so the Swedish grand idea of 'herd immunity' didn't work eh? who would have thought now? of all the dumb thing to do to let Covid fix itself...

Edited December 17, 20205 yr by ezzra

My deepest condolences to you and your wonderful country and citizens we here in the USA share your grief and pain it seems our (leadership) had the same idea just not the courage to say it out loud 

My sympathies to the Swedes, but also a thank you for your effort.   Sweden will provide valuable information on how this virus spreads and since they did have some efforts at public mitigation, the virus was not just allowed to 'run wild.'   

 

I don't see how a virus like this can be tackled without lockdowns.  It is exclusively passed from one person to another and as long as people are in the same area, the chances of catching it increase.  Social distancing and masks may work very well, but when infections reach a certain level, then getting people almost completely out of contact with others seems necessary.

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

but lower than in Britain, Italy, Spain or France, which have all opted for lockdowns. 

Exactly, so it cant be that much of a  failure.

22 minutes ago, bodga said:

Exactly, so it cant be that much of a  failure.

Of course it’s a failure because lots of deaths could’ve been prevented if they had had a lockdown! Duh! 

Well, take that to all the people who used Sweden as an example for how a lockdown is so not necessary! 
 

R.I.P. to the ones who didn’t make it! 

It would be interesting to see the true figures. Let's face it, old people die, especially those in care homes, and it's a Nordic winter. Are deaths of the elderly really higher than other years?

I am not for one minute claiming to know anything more than others, or an expert in any field. But there's so much claimed nonsense on the internet and from governments around the world. Who's to know whether or not he was 'advised' what to say? Or even if he knows what he's talking about?

How many people have 'died of old age' 'died of regular flu' and 'died of cancer, strokes and heart failure' in 2020? If these reported numbers are lower than previous years, could it be that Covid is being blamed on expected deaths from other causes?

2 hours ago, Credo said:

My sympathies to the Swedes, but also a thank you for your effort.   Sweden will provide valuable information on how this virus spreads and since they did have some efforts at public mitigation, the virus was not just allowed to 'run wild.'   

 

I don't see how a virus like this can be tackled without lockdowns.  It is exclusively passed from one person to another and as long as people are in the same area, the chances of catching it increase.  Social distancing and masks may work very well, but when infections reach a certain level, then getting people almost completely out of contact with others seems necessary.

 

 

I am really tired of this lockdown/no lockdown debate, which is really quite ignorant.  S. Korea never locked down and suppressed the virus with only 11.84 deaths per million.  Taiwan never locked down and has controlled the virus with 7 deaths.  That's not 7 deaths per million, but just a total of 7 deaths for its entire population of 23 million.

 

For some reason people like you ignore the many spectacularly successful Asian countries as though they are not relevant, because they are on Mars or something.  Intelligent and energetic governance is all that is necessary to shutdown the epidemic.  Many Asian countries had such governments; none of the Western countries did.

Now it's COVID Deaths, later on we will count covid related economic deaths. Sweden will 'win' in the end. Quality above Quantity ...

Sweden ranked 24th for deaths per million (779). I think the king was probably referring to the elderly and they failed the elderly as that population was hard hit.  Lockdown countries like Belgium, Italy, Spain, UK, USA, France all did worse. Looks like Sweden is holding itself to a higher standard than many.

 

Of the 7,893 deaths in Sweden 6,914 were aged 70 plus.

 

Coronavirus Update (Live): 75,247,969 Cases and 1,667,124 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (worldometers.info)

 

• Sweden: coronavirus deaths by age | Statista

2 minutes ago, Taxi said:

Sweden ranked 24th for deaths per million (779). I think the king was probably referring to the elderly and they failed the elderly as that population was hard hit.  Lockdown countries like Belgium, Italy, Spain, UK, USA, France all did worse. Looks like Sweden is holding itself to a higher standard than many.

 

Of the 7,893 deaths in Sweden 6,914 were aged 70 plus.

 

Coronavirus Update (Live): 75,247,969 Cases and 1,667,124 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (worldometers.info)

 

• Sweden: coronavirus deaths by age | Statista

 

And all of those deaths were unnecessary.

Kudos for owning up to failure.

 

A sign of leadership.

 

 

22 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

 

I am really tired of this lockdown/no lockdown debate, which is really quite ignorant.  S. Korea never locked down and suppressed the virus with only 11.84 deaths per million.  Taiwan never locked down and has controlled the virus with 7 deaths.  That's not 7 deaths per million, but just a total of 7 deaths for its entire population of 23 million.

 

For some reason people like you ignore the many spectacularly successful Asian countries as though they are not relevant, because they are on Mars or something.  Intelligent and energetic governance is all that is necessary to shutdown the epidemic.  Many Asian countries had such governments; none of the Western countries did.

"People like you", really?   Perhaps if you read what I wrote and tried to comprehend, it would help.  This is what I said, 

"..but when infections reach a certain level, then getting people almost completely out of contact with others seems necessary."

 

If lockdowns can be avoided by other forms of mitigation, then good.  If not, then lockdowns become necessary.

 

 

 

28 minutes ago, Taxi said:

Sweden ranked 24th for deaths per million (779). I think the king was probably referring to the elderly and they failed the elderly as that population was hard hit.  Lockdown countries like Belgium, Italy, Spain, UK, USA, France all did worse. Looks like Sweden is holding itself to a higher standard than many.

 

Of the 7,893 deaths in Sweden 6,914 were aged 70 plus.

 

Coronavirus Update (Live): 75,247,969 Cases and 1,667,124 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (worldometers.info)

 

• Sweden: coronavirus deaths by age | Statista

Of cource King compares to other similar ( Finland, Norway etc..) countries which have similar society and standard of living for all people not just rich ones like almost rest of the world,,,, The King is right.. They failed here..

28 minutes ago, Credo said:

"People like you", really?   Perhaps if you read what I wrote and tried to comprehend, it would help.  This is what I said, 

"..but when infections reach a certain level, then getting people almost completely out of contact with others seems necessary."

 

If lockdowns can be avoided by other forms of mitigation, then good.  If not, then lockdowns become necessary.

 

The need to lockdown indicates a failure of policy.  For some reason you persist in focusing on the point after policy has already failed.  You should read up on S. Korea, Taiwan, and Viet Nam to understand what an intelligent and energetic government can do.

A post with an off-topic graphic has been removed.  If you want your post removed, just add a nonsensical picture.   This is a discussion forum.  

40 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

 

The need to lockdown indicates a failure of policy.  For some reason you persist in focusing on the point after policy has already failed.  You should read up on S. Korea, Taiwan, and Viet Nam to understand what an intelligent and energetic government can do.

S. Korea is about to go on a hard core lock down.  My friends live in Seoul.  They're not going out any more.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/16/asia/south-korea-japan-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html

South Korea warns of first potential lockdown as coronavirus numbers continue to rise

 

 

19 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

S. Korea is about to go on a hard core lock down.  My friends live in Seoul.  They're not going out any more.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/16/asia/south-korea-japan-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html

South Korea warns of first potential lockdown as coronavirus numbers continue to rise

 

S. Korea's current outbreak is miniscule compared to the US, for example.  Because the Korean public health officials are committed to doing whatever is necessary to control the virus, they have put in some lockdown measures when Western governments faced with comparable rates or worse do not do so.  They will get the spread back down to the level that they can control once again with the best practices of testing, contact tracing, and isolation.  The Swedish and American governments, by contrast, have never implemented those basic procedures nationwide.

9 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

 

S. Korea's current outbreak is miniscule compared to the US, for example.  Because the Korean public health officials are committed to doing whatever is necessary to control the virus, they have put in some lockdown measures when Western governments faced with comparable rates or worse do not do so.  They will get the spread back down to the level that they can control once again with the best practices of testing, contact tracing, and isolation.  The Swedish and American governments, by contrast, have never implemented those basic procedures nationwide.

Agreed.  But you were holding SK out as an example of a country that didn't do a lock down.  You might be proven wrong shortly.

 

Things change rapidly with this virus.  Just ask SK.

6 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

Agreed.  But you were holding SK out as an example of a country that didn't do a lock down.  You might be proven wrong shortly.

 

Things change rapidly with this virus.  Just ask SK.

S. Korea controlled their first outbreak without a lockdown by energetically applying testing, isolation and contact tracing.  The current outbreak does not invalidate that effort in any way.  They did not do a lockdown, because they abandoned the best practices, which is the reason that Sweden, the UK, and the US have or soon will impose lockdowns either local or global.  

 

Once they reduce the current rate of infection to a level that can once again be controlled by best practices without a lockdown, they will do so.  There is nothing inconsistent about this.

4 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

S. Korea controlled their first outbreak without a lockdown by energetically applying testing, isolation and contact tracing.  The current outbreak does not invalidate that effort in any way.  They did not do a lockdown, because they abandoned the best practices, which is the reason that Sweden, the UK, and the US have or soon will impose lockdowns either local or global.  

 

Once they reduce the current rate of infection to a level that can once again be controlled by best practices without a lockdown, they will do so.  There is nothing inconsistent about this.

Not forget that S Korea contact tracing is something which is highly invading privacy , creating huge problems in any Western country . I am not saying somebody should do or not do , i am only saying that it is more then very intensive , following you everywhere , so if you were in a area with somebody testing positive , you would get a msg on your cellphone , all wanted or unwanted . The testing is something S korea did put on very high chart , from day 1 , in which all other countries were still sleeping .

8 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

S. Korea controlled their first outbreak without a lockdown by energetically applying testing, isolation and contact tracing.  The current outbreak does not invalidate that effort in any way.  They did not do a lockdown, because they abandoned the best practices, which is the reason that Sweden, the UK, and the US have or soon will impose lockdowns either local or global.  

 

Once they reduce the current rate of infection to a level that can once again be controlled by best practices without a lockdown, they will do so.  There is nothing inconsistent about this.

 

From your post above:

Quote

The need to lockdown indicates a failure of policy. 

 

1 minute ago, Jeffr2 said:

 

From your post above:

 

Failure of policy or more failure of the people ? I guess it is the 2nd . Stupid people , thinking only about themselves, rather then following guidelines . It isnt so hard , stay far enough away from others , no social contact , clean your hands , wear a mask , if inside ventilate the room . If everybody followed the guidelines , there would still be infections , but a lot less . That is what is basically what governments are trying to do with lockdowns , no social contact , by closing all kinds of methods where people do not social distance .

8 minutes ago, sezze said:

Not forget that S Korea contact tracing is something which is highly invading privacy , creating huge problems in any Western country . I am not saying somebody should do or not do , i am only saying that it is more then very intensive , following you everywhere , so if you were in a area with somebody testing positive , you would get a msg on your cellphone , all wanted or unwanted . The testing is something S korea did put on very high chart , from day 1 , in which all other countries were still sleeping .

 

The privacy concern is idiotic in my opinion.  During the Black Death in 1348 mortality across Europe may have been as high as 50%, but it wasn't uniform.  Milan notably was mostly untouched.  The reason is that when the first two families became infected with the plague the authorities promptly bricked them up in their homes.  That was the right policy then. 

 

In the current crisis the Chinese government was correct in tearing family members who had tested positive out of their homes and putting them into government-controlled quarantine.  People have to sacrifice some of the benefits of normal life, because it isn't normal anymore.  Privacy should certainly be the first and easiest sacrifice we have to make.

The failure in the first instance of the Swedish, American, British, German, and all the other Western governments had nothing to do with locking down or not.  They failed to surveil emergent pathogens in China.  At least since SARS in 2003, all governments should have been aware of a possible pandemic starting in China.  And they should have been surveilling China for just that event.  The S. Koreans and Taiwanese were doing that.  They were both aware of Covid well before either the Chinese government or WHO made public announcements.  And they took immediate action to prepare their public health systems for the coming crisis.

 

The US had actually put such a surveillance system in place.  The US CDC had its own office with 47 employees including epidemiologists in an office in Beijing and elsewhere.  USAID also had relevant capabilities in China.  Trump shut them all down, reducing the Beijing office of CDC to 14 staff with no epidemiologists.  

 

Even so, the US and the other Western governments could have sought the cooperation of the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency in sharing the information from their own pathogen surveillance program, which I am sure the Koreans would have been happy to do.  Apparently none of the Western governments bothered to do so, since they were all caught flat-footed.

 

The US death toll will eventually reach 500,000 approximately equal to the casualties of the 1918 H1N1 Flu epidemic.  Nearly every single one of those deaths was avoidable and is the fault of the Trump administration.

I've posted this before, but an interesting read:

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/26/why-does-belgium-have-the-worlds-highest-covid-19-death-rate/
 

Quote

 

Why Does Belgium Have the World’s Highest COVID-19 Death Rate?

 

Individualism, regional divisions, and fragmented government authority have led the capital of Europe to fail where many poorer and less-connected countries have succeeded.

 

 

Sounds like the US.  Just add in a president who lied.

28 minutes ago, sezze said:

Not forget that S Korea contact tracing is something which is highly invading privacy , creating huge problems in any Western country . I am not saying somebody should do or not do , i am only saying that it is more then very intensive , following you everywhere , so if you were in a area with somebody testing positive , you would get a msg on your cellphone , all wanted or unwanted . The testing is something S korea did put on very high chart , from day 1 , in which all other countries were still sleeping .

You are absolutely spot on but one of the biggest reasons S. Korea did so well is a compliant population who understood the importance of these things and acted accordingly.........and on the other hand you have the West!

To say it's a different story is an understatement, oputlined by this article from the BBC (https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-55280321) which tells of contact tracers being ignored, sworn at and generally abused. The attitude is digusting and is why the UK (and the US of course) are seeing some of the biggest numbers of deaths around. 

I mean how hard can it be? Wear a mask, social distance, self-isolate when you need to. Anything else is just sheer selfishness.

5 hours ago, bodga said:

Exactly, so it cant be that much of a  failure.

 

You can't legitimately compare Sweden with the other larger more urban European countries mentioned in the post you were responding to. Totally different population density and living dynamics.

 

You can, however, compare Sweden legitimately with its various Nordic neighboring countries, where Sweden's per capita CV death rate is and long has been drastically higher.  They failed... no two ways about it.

 

They are not, and never were, any kind of consequence-free, health measure-free haven that CV deniers made them out to be.

 

11 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

Even the Germans, who did far better than the Americans, failed wretchedly, because they weren't paying attention when they should have been.  The standard for comparison is S. Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Viet Nam, China, New Zealand, Australia, and some others.

I'm happy I'm here instead of in the US or Europe!  Congrats to Thailand.