April 28th:
A total of 2,355 people have died with the coronavirus in Sweden according to the figures reported by the Public Health Agency today. That's an increase of 81 from the figure reported yesterday, but the way these reports happen means that's not the same as the number of deaths in the last 24 hours.
"We are now checking with the death register and there may be more cases added. Of course every death from the virus is awful, and [the victims] must not be reduced to numbers, but it is also important to understand the numbers" said state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell.
He added: "This looks like a slowdown in the number of cases, and even cases at elderly care homes seem to have decreased somewhat."
In the last 24 hours alone, ten further intensive care beds have been added to Sweden's total number, bringing the number of total beds to 1,085. The total number of coronavirus patients being cared for in intensive care units was 544, and Johanna Sandwall, crisis manager at the National Board of Health and Welfare, said that across the whole country, there was 30 percent spare capacity in intensive care.
But the situation varies significantly from region to region, and she said that in different parts of the country the spare capacity varied from 0 to 60 percent.
Asked which region had zero spare capacity, Sandwall said: "We are not making that data public, we are just saying that it varies. If you make this kind of information public, you can make the work harder [for healthcare workers]."
Asked about the possibilities for intensive care for care home residents, she explained: "People get intensive care based on the need for it. It doesn't matter whether you're at home or at a care home, it's about whether you can cope with the treatment. Since there is spare capacity, those who need intensive care are receiving it."
Anders Tegnell was asked about differences in the guidelines that state authorities have given about the amount of distance to keep from others in public. Up until April, there was no reference to keeping distance or social distancing in the Public Health Agency's guidelines, and since these were introduced the agency's advice has differed from that of the 1177 healthcare service, for example, which advises standing two metres away from others.
Guidelines have also varied internationally, with some countries and institutions recommending a two-metre distance, and others advising one metre or 1.5 metres as a guideline.
"This is because there aren't any clear answers which work in all situations, it also depends a lot on where you are and the situation you're in," Tegnell replied.
"As an individual, it's important to remember that infection happens in situations when two people are very close to each other, especially face to face, that's what you should be careful about. Setting a boundary, as is happening in restaurants and shops, is good, but as an individual the important thing to remember is that these are the situations [face-to-face contact, especially prolonged contact] where the risk of infection is, it doesn't just happen because you happen to be 1.5 metres away from someone."
A journalist from Svenska Dagbladet asked about
a report from the UK which suggested that a rare but dangerous infection could be linked to the coronavirus in children. Tegnell said there were no reports that this had been seen in Sweden, and added that it appeared to be rare in the UK, but that the Public Health Agency would look into any such reports in Sweden.
Scandinavian airline SAS has
announced plans to lay off up to 40 percent of its workforce in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The move affects up to 1,900 full-time positions in Sweden as the airline warns it may take years for demand for air travel to return to pre-crisis levels.