With motivations that, at first, seemed more economic than sanitary, the Swedish government abolished the policy of large-scale testing for the detection of the coronavirus. From this Wednesday (9), antigen tests will be left aside, and RT-PCR, made available only to health professionals, the elderly and people in vulnerability who show symptoms of Covid.
“If we test everyone who has Covid, that would mean SEK 500 million [R$ 289 milhões] per week and 2 billion per month”, justified the director of the Swedish Public Health Agency, Karin Tegmark Wisell, in an interview with SVT, a public communication company.
The microbiologist argued that the cost-effectiveness of the tests is no longer sustainable. With the omicron variant, which multiplied the number of infections — the Swedish moving average was 24,300 this Tuesday (8), compared to 2,200 recorded two months ago —, testing the mass population would only increase, in the government’s view. , public spending that has so far reached SEK 21.5 billion (R$ 12.4 billion).
Thus, those who show symptoms of Covid but are not in priority testing groups will be advised to self-isolate. Antigen tests are sold in pharmacies. The problem is that their results are not reported to the authorities, which can, over the months, lead to underreporting of the pandemic in Sweden, even though it is not a country with challenges to acquire tests.
Also on Wednesday, the few restrictions that remained in the Scandinavian country were abolished. Public and private meetings, as well as restaurants and parties, no longer have a limit of participants, distance requirements or the need to present the vaccination certificate. The local health agency says the high vaccination coverage, combined with the omicron variant, which causes fewer severe cases, “reduces the necessary health care burden.”
Although the omicron has boosted infections, the number of deaths due to Covid in Sweden did not reach levels like those observed in January last year, with a record of 140 daily deaths. The moving average of deaths was 40 this Tuesday. Two months ago, the daily average number of deaths was around 3.
More than 74% of the country’s population completed the first vaccination course, and 43% received the booster dose of the immunizer against Covid, according to data from the Our World in Data platform, figures that project the government’s hope of creating an immunity network. .
During the health crisis, Sweden has already been forced to admit that it was wrong in the measures adopted. The strategy to fight the pandemic used in the country was slow and insufficient to limit the spread of infections and was below expectations, evaluated, in October, an independent commission appointed by the government itself.
Considered a European exception in the measures implemented to control the spread of the virus, the Nordic country did not establish national lockdown policies or the mandatory use of masks indoors or outdoors, postures that were addressed in the two-volume report made available by the commission at the time. .
The country went against Europe, this time in a more recent episode, when the local Public Health Agency said it did not recommend the immunization of children aged 5 to 11 years, even though it had approved the application of the Covid vaccine for this age group. age.
Restrictions on entry into the country were also partially abolished as of this Wednesday. Citizens of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Finland) and the European Union (EU) can travel to Sweden. Travelers from other countries, however, remain subject to the entry ban until March 31.
