Swedish CV-19 Expert: Lockdown Was Wrong Approach
The world went crazy’ with lockdowns, says Sweden’s coronavirus expert as he blasts WHO for ‘misinterpreting data’ with set of 11 nations seeing a ‘resurgence’
- Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s virus expert, said the world ‘went mad’ with lockdowns
- Said leaders caved to pressure with decisions that ‘fly in the face’ of science
- Also hit out at WHO, after body said Sweden is seeing a ‘dangerous resurgence’
- Tegnell has accused WHO’s Europe chief of ‘totally misinterpreting’ the data
Sweden’s top virus expert has said the ‘world went mad’ with coronavirus lockdowns which ‘fly facing what is known about handling virus pandemics’.
Anders Tegnell, who advised Sweden to avoid full lockdown towards a ‘herd immunity’ strategy, said world leaders caved to political pressure amid panic – and that the long-term downsides of lockdown will far outweigh the benefits.
He also hit out at the WHO after it placed Sweden on a list of 11 countries seeing a ‘dangerous resurgence’ in the virus, saying it had ‘totally misinterpreted’ the data.
Sweden has seen seen its daily coronavirus case totals spike in recent weeks, leading the WHO to warn it really is seeing a ‘resurgence’ of the disease. But the country’s virus expert Anders Tegnell said the WHO had ‘totally misinterpreted’ the info, saying the ‘spike’ is down to improved testing and pointing to falling deaths as evidence
Tegnell said a ‘surge’ in cases throughout the last week is really the result of more testing, meaning mild cases that previously went undetected are now showing in the info.
He pointed to a steady fall in deaths, hospital admissions and ICU admissions as evidence that Sweden’s outbreak is actually retreating, not getting worse.
It employs WHO Europe director Hans Henri Kluge warned in a press conference on Thursday of 11 European countries that had seen a ‘dangerous resurgence’ in the virus, meaning healthcare systems could soon be inundated.
The WHO later revealed Sweden was on that list, alongside Armenia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Kosovo.
Tegnell said:
‘It’s an overall total misunderstanding, I’d say. They have looked at the amount of cases daily and it has increased steeply within the last week.”
Tegnell said Hans Henri Kluge, the WHO’s Europe chief, ‘got it wrong’ because he previously not spoken to anybody in Sweden before making his announcement
‘This is entirely as a result of extended testing and that people find more mild cases. We see no evidence at all that our epidemic in Sweden is getting worse – to the contrary. It is regrettable that people are confusing Sweden with countries that have perhaps not previously had problems, which are demonstrably in the beginning. Sweden is nearing the end.’
Asked why the WHO had misinterpreted the data, Tegnell said no official was in contact with Swedish authorities – meaning they missed the nuances in the figures.
He added that being included on the list could cause issues for Sweden, especially as countries decide where to allow their citizens to travel.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned the other day that the world is entering a ‘dangerous new phase’ of coronavirus, as global cases topped 150,000 in one day.
Since they have risen further, and so are now routinely above 180,000 daily.Tegnell was the man behind Sweden’s decision not to get into lockdown, towards social distancing and a ‘herd immunity’ strategy.
The spike comes as much countries, including those in Europe and the US, ease out of lockdowns which kept case-counts low.
While critics have pointed to a loosening of the rules for the rise in cases, others – including US President Donald Trump – say improved testing is really the cause.Like Tegnell, they have pointed to the fact deaths are continuing to fall even while cases rise as evidence.
However, the picture is further complicated by the fact that deaths often lag behind a growth in cases – taking two to three weeks to show in the data. Many countries have only recently exited lockdowns, meaning a spike in deaths – when it is coming – is many weeks away.
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Charles Higley
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Testing positive does not make one a “case.” We need to get back to the real world and say cases are based on if you are sick (have symptoms). This eliminates the false positives, the fantasy asymptomatic carriers that suddenly abound in the world. Typhoid Mary was famous because carriers are rare not common.
Also, changing the test is problematic. How did they change it? Is it based on a real pure culture of C-19 or simply a revised general test for a general covi genetic sequence as they admitted it was weeks ago. The numbers become incomparable unless such changes are well understood.
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chris
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At the beginning of this many of the tests were contaminated to show positive no matter what. They’re probably doing it again. At the beginning they also laid off a lot of hospital workers in order to decrease the number of available hospital resources to make it look worse. This whole thing has been a fraud.
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Andy Rowlands
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I agree with you Chris, this is a plandemic which is nowhere near as bad as is being claimed. We will be told there is a ‘second wave’ whether there is one or not, to keep us confined in our homes, out of contact with others, for as long as possible.
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Ken Hughes
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Well, since an identifiable spike is many weeks away, then that proves the WHO are lying. They’re making it up.
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Andy Rowlands
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Some out there seem not to understand that as the number of tests increases, so does the number of new cases. The only figure that gives an accurate account of how deadly something is is the number of deaths, and in the UK, there are five times too many being registered, just because the virus is mentioned on death certificates. The number that could only have been killed by the virus here is less than 2000. This will form part of an article I am preparing for PSI in early July, when the figures for June are fully recorded.
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K Kaiser
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To Chris Pleasance (the author of this post) and @Andy Rowlands,
Thank you for your post and comment(s).
Indeed, most media are doing everyone a great disfavor by mentioning (daily on our TV news, etc.) the new number of “cases,” here & there, wherever.
– To begin with, I’ve yet to see a definition of the term “case(s),” anywhere. Different folks have different interpretations of what that means.
– Irrespective of how “cases” are being defined, simple numbers are meaningless unless they are put into a context of the actual population size and longer term natural rates of death (hovering around 1% per annum) in many western countries.
– The draconian lockdowns in many countries were initially justified to “flatten the curve” that threatened to overwhelm medical facilities.
– When that “flattening” was accomplished, two/three months ago, it should then have quickly been followed by a step-wise build-up of the “herd-immunity.”
– I suspect that, in the end (also considering any new “cases” to come later), Sweden’s approach will be found to have been superior.
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Alan Stewart
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Point on as per usual Klaus but I’ll throw everyone a fun one. Most people die when they’re old, simple. BBC series years ago ”Rumpole of the Bailey,’ with crusty actor Leo McKern. (an Auzzie) who liked cigars. His ‘politically correct’ associates asked; ‘Why when you know they will shorten your life do you smoke them??’ Answer: ‘Because I enjoy them and if I quit it may extend my life a few years living in a GERIATRIC WARD, ‘
It is our decision, not the governments, is it not?? The governments decisions that killed 40+% shoving them into GERIATRIC WARDS is the death knell to be thought about.
Best Klaus
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Guys,
Finally I can conclude that someone understands what is going on.
Thanks PSI for allowing you to share your speculations (pondering) with each other as you focus upon actual data (observations)and with silent readers of PSI.
Have a good day, Jerry
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T. C. Clark
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Beijing shuts down market – schools – locks down neighborhoods in virus outbreak – speculates it cane from Europe – hundreds of flights cancelled – Xi and other CCP elite can not be proven to still be in Beijing. Chinese pay no attention to Swedish solution, eh?
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Marjorie Curtis
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I forget where I saw it, but I found a wonderful word the other day. SCAMDEMIC. How about that?
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