Sweden has seen a surge in coronavirus cases after weeks with low daily increases. Photo / Getty Images
Sweden has seen a surge in coronavirus cases after weeks with low daily increases. Photo / Getty Images
It's been three months since Sweden recorded just over 800 new coronavirus cases.
But after months with no dramatic increases and low hospitalisation rates, cases of Covid-19 have surged again.
While the Scandinavian country was panned for its controversial approach to coronavirus, it has been recording fewer deaths per day than most other nations — including Australia.
Sweden chose to ignore calls for heavy lockdowns and has kept most schools, bars and restaurants open throughout the pandemic.
Even as cases surged with 752 people testing positive on Thursday – the highest daily rise since June 30 – there was not a single fatality.
Chief Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, the man behind Sweden's controversial strategy, said the uptick was mostly in young people and workplace outbreaks.
"It's very unevenly spread across Sweden, hitting different parts of the country to varying degree," he said.
"Stockholm once again accounts for a very large part of the new cases in Sweden."
Sweden's relatively low-key approach to coronavirus lockdowns captured the world's attention when the pandemic first hit Europe. Photo / AP
It's been three months since Sweden recorded just over 800 new coronavirus cases.
But after months with no dramatic increases and low hospitalisation rates, cases of Covid-19 have surged again.
While the Scandinavian country was panned for its controversial approach to coronavirus, it has been recording fewer deaths per day than most other nations — including Australia.
Sweden chose to ignore calls for heavy lockdowns and has kept most schools, bars and restaurants open throughout the pandemic.
Even as cases surged with 752 people testing positive on Thursday – the highest daily rise since June 30 – there was not a single fatality.
Chief Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, the man behind Sweden's controversial strategy, said the uptick was mostly in young people and workplace outbreaks.
"It's very unevenly spread across Sweden, hitting different parts of the country to varying degree," he said.
"Stockholm once again accounts for a very large part of the new cases in Sweden."
Kim Sneppen, from the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, said the country had beaten the virus with herd immunity.
"There is some evidence that the Swedes have built up a degree of immunity to the virus which, along with what else they are doing to stop the spread, is enough to control the disease," he told the Politiken newspaper.
It's an idea Tegnell has repeatedly denied, although he had indicated immunity is being evidenced.
"We are happy that the number of cases is going down rapidly and we do believe immunity in the population has something to do with that," he said.
"And we hope that the immunity in the population will help us get thought this fall with cases at a low level."
As cases spike elsewhere, there has been a return to restrictions, albeit it not as tough.
And experts say countries are taking a leaf out of Sweden's book.
Sweden largely avoids imposing strict lockdown rules on its citizens. Photo / Getty Images
"Today, all of the European countries are more or less following the Swedish model, combined with the testing, tracing and quarantine procedures the Germans have introduced, but none will admit it," Antoine Flahault, director of the Institute of Global Health, told The New York Times.
