SWEDEN is getting a lot of attention right now in the global media as it is one of the very few countries in the world that is not in lockdown due to the coronavirus.
The country has left schools, restaurants, and gyms open, and while the government banned gatherings over 50 people and urged residents to self-isolate, life appears to be mostly unchanged.
Sweden’s lack of strict lockdowns is in contrast to the rest of Europe, and it has yet to see a downturn in Covid-19 cases. The country, which has a population of 10 million, has seen 14,777 cases so far, and 1,580 deaths from the virus.
Ballybofey man Rodney Dullaghan moved to Stockholm with his wife Maria and two kids Christian (18) and Zoe (12) in the summer of 2016. He works with Swedish music streaming company Spotify.
“I had spent nine great years working with Pramerica in Letterkenny and we decided we would try it for a year. Each summer we decide we will give it another year and we are here since,” he said.
“It is strange watching all the news from around the world when things continue here, maybe not as normal, but people are still pretty much free to do what they always have done,” he added.
High schools and Universities are closed and students attend classes remotely but kindergartens and elementary/middle schools remain open, in part to avoid healthcare workers staying home with their younger children.
“Spotify informed all of their employees worldwide on March 10th that we should all work from home and they were closing all offices. This was due to our office in New York, which is in the World Trade Centre, having an employee test positive. One of the first reported in the city.
“It’s been six weeks that I have been working from home and you do miss the craic in the office but workwise there hasn’t been any real negative impact. A lot of our work is done via video calls anyway so we are used to it,” he said.
Maria works for Amazon Web Services and she is doing all her work from home as well.
A keen Finn Harps supporter, Rodney is happy to report that football is absolutely huge in Sweden and Stockholm has three teams that play in the Allsvenskan (Premier) and depending on the matches will have 30,000 to 55,000 fans.
“It was a seriously big deal when they announced the season would not be starting,” he said.
Public transport continues as normal although buses are now free so the driver does not have to check peoples travel cards when they get on.
The Swedish constitution prohibits ministerial rule and mandates that the relevant government body, here an expert agency — the Public Health Agency — must initiate all actions to prevent the virus, making state epistemologist Anders Tegnell the central figure in the crisis with his daily press conferences.
“The biggest issue in Stockholm right now is that nursing homes have been badly infected and over half of all deaths have come from them. A lot of countries do not report nursing home deaths – only hospital deaths – as part of their official numbers so that also skews Sweden’s death rate versus infection,” he said.
“There is no true way to know how many people have had it and recovered. For example, one of my friends here from Sligo contracted it flying from Dublin to Stockholm before Easter. He became ill after being back in Sweden 5 days and recovered himself at his home for a week. He like many others will not be part of any official numbers as he wasn’t tested,” he added.
Because Sweden is such a liberal country, the personal freedom and rights of the Swedish people is paramount to their beliefs. The government here have a lot less power over the citizens than in many other countries.
“Sweden is a large country with a small population (10 million) and there isn’t the close proximity like other places that have been hit so hard like New York, Italy, Spain and UK and, as a result, believe that they need the same restrictions.
“All such advice and restrictions are voluntary and the large majority of people have been following them. Many have chosen self-isolation and social distancing is very apparent when you are outdoors or in a shop. There has been no panic buying, parties or people hanging about the streets.
“While bars, restaurants and hotels are still open, they are mostly empty and obviously suffering as a result. Many of my musician friends here have been out of work for weeks,” he said.
The government has announced a €30 billion emergency package to reduce the financial impact and will pay half of salary if there is a reduction in work hours, aiming to help businesses stay afloat without having to do lay-offs.
“There is a lot of debate worldwide if Sweden is doing the right thing or not. According to a survey carried out in late March, three out of four Swedes trusted the Public Health Agency and 85% said they trusted the Swedish health-care system.
“The toughest thing about being here during this crisis is obviously being away from home, from our families and from our friends. The likes of a Friday night Zoom quiz with the rest of the Dullaghan clan and regular FaceTime calls definitely helps.
“Once the pandemic levels out, we plan to get back to Donegal for a very extended stay to see our family, friends and of course a few Finn Harps matches,” he said.
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