COVID-19 — Coronavirus

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I will ask my friend and sniff around myself now boss. The info was a phone message from a pal who lives near Stockholm.
Cheers — it will be interesting to see which countries adopt this approach (and, if they do, at what phases of outbreak in their populations, given there are many risks, the severity of which largely depend on the timing of adoption).
 
This seems to confirm what my friend says regarding the Swedish response...

Health: Anyone with symptoms of respiratory infection, however mild, is urged to minimize social contact and stay at home. People are being advised to avoid unnecessary visits to hospitals and retirement homes.

Travel: Sweden is advising against any travel to Iran and to Hubei Province in China. It also advises against all non-essential trips to the rest of China, Italy and affected areas of South Korea.

Education: Schools are not subject to blanket closures, though several have shut following infections of staff or pupils. Notably, Sweden’s Princess Estelle’s school has closed, news of which even made it into Vanity Fair.

Events: Gatherings of more than 500 people have been banned. A royal gala dinner was canceled as well as a number of other events such as the Stockholm St Patrick’s Day Parade.

Economy: The government on Wednesday proposed to update the national budget to include extra money for health care costs. Companies may also see their employment contribution deferred.

Other measures: The government has so far taken less drastic measures than others in Europe.

Panic level: 3/10

Number of confirmed cases: 620, as of March 12 at 3.20 p.m.

Deaths: 1, as of March 11 at 4 p.m.

Recovered: 1, according to the Local.

Number of tests done: Unknown.

https://www.politico.eu/article/how-europe-is-responding-to-the-coronavirus-pandemic/
 
This seems to confirm what my friend says regarding the Swedish response...

Health: Anyone with symptoms of respiratory infection, however mild, is urged to minimize social contact and stay at home. People are being advised to avoid unnecessary visits to hospitals and retirement homes.

Travel: Sweden is advising against any travel to Iran and to Hubei Province in China. It also advises against all non-essential trips to the rest of China, Italy and affected areas of South Korea.

Education: Schools are not subject to blanket closures, though several have shut following infections of staff or pupils. Notably, Sweden’s Princess Estelle’s school has closed, news of which even made it into Vanity Fair.

Events: Gatherings of more than 500 people have been banned. A royal gala dinner was canceled as well as a number of other events such as the Stockholm St Patrick’s Day Parade.

Economy: The government on Wednesday proposed to update the national budget to include extra money for health care costs. Companies may also see their employment contribution deferred.

Other measures: The government has so far taken less drastic measures than others in Europe.

Panic level: 3/10

Number of confirmed cases: 620, as of March 12 at 3.20 p.m.

Deaths: 1, as of March 11 at 4 p.m.

Recovered: 1, according to the Local.

Number of tests done: Unknown.

https://www.politico.eu/article/how-europe-is-responding-to-the-coronavirus-pandemic/
I wonder if this confirms or just signals that they have not yet decided to implement a comprehensive response (or their plan isn’t reflected in this article)?
 
I wonder if this confirms or just signals that they have not yet decided to implement a comprehensive response (or their plan isn’t reflected in this article)?
I can't say i am sure boss, my mates response was a typical text message, so not much detail. I asked "what are you guy's doing about it" his reply was "not to much right now, herd immunity like the uk". I'll see if i can get some links of him later with more detail, he has gone to bed now i think. I will have a look around myself to since my sleep pattern is buggered up and i am still wide awake.
 
It seems to be a cultural thing...

"In Sweden, most measures within communicable disease control are taken without coercion. We know from experience that a well-informed and motivated person understands and follows given recommendations, and personal responsibility is better than coercive measures. In case the recommendations are not followed, the medical officer for communicable diseases in the region in question can decide on mandatory quarantine or isolation. That is possible by law now that the new coronavirus is classified as a disease that is dangerous to public health and to society.
People who are planning trips to affected areas are advised to stay up to date on the current situation."

https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se...sweden/communicable-disease-control/covid-19/

I also found this wiki... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_Sweden#Responses
 
I can't say i am sure boss, my mates response was a typical text message, so not much detail. I asked "what are you guy's doing about it" his reply was "not to much right now, herd immunity like the uk". I'll see if i can get some links of him later with more detail, he has gone to bed now i think. I will have a look around myself to since my sleep pattern is buggered up and i am still wide awake.
Thanks, mate. My sleep pattern is completely ****ed these days, as well.

I did a quick search when I saw your post but didn’t come up with anything. I even tried google translated Swedish! :-)
 
We introduced Drive through testing 3 weeks ago. At this point it is mostly useless.

Drive through testing means you get ill, drive to get a test, get tested, get the results in a few days and then when it comes back positive you self isolate. If you're not better in a week you consult medical advice.

The UK's policy is simply you get ill, assume you have coronavirus and isolate. If you don't get better in a week, you get tested when consulting medical advice.


All testing is doing is adding a middleman at great cost and using a precious resource. There's a reason something like 90% of the early tests were negative and when the world doesn't have that many kits, it's much better used on someone who's properly ill.
Brilliant. So it worked really well in South Korea but won’t work in the UK eh? I mean, other than China, they’re the country with the most test results and the best reduction in new daily cases.

Also, we didn’t “introduce drive through testing three weeks ago”. We opened one on the 9th March in Wolverhampton, so stop chatting shit.
 
It seems to be a cultural thing...

"In Sweden, most measures within communicable disease control are taken without coercion. We know from experience that a well-informed and motivated person understands and follows given recommendations, and personal responsibility is better than coercive measures. In case the recommendations are not followed, the medical officer for communicable diseases in the region in question can decide on mandatory quarantine or isolation. That is possible by law now that the new coronavirus is classified as a disease that is dangerous to public health and to society.
People who are planning trips to affected areas are advised to stay up to date on the current situation."

https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se...sweden/communicable-disease-control/covid-19/

I also found this wiki... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_Sweden#Responses
Ahh, so it’s not a stated plan, it’s just their current state of response is similar, which is why nothing recent came up when I was searching for herd immunity references to Sweden. As you said, a cultural thing.

It will be interesting to see what measures they take as things progress, especially after the surge from a large number of their citizens recently returning from Northern Italy.

This bit from the The Public Health Agency of Sweden site you shared makes me think they may fall in line with WHO guidance (whatever that is at the time).

Public Health Response
One important mission of the Public Health Agency is to disseminate scientifically based knowledge that prevents ill-health and disease and supports society in the work against health threats. The Public Health Agency closely monitors the course of events when it comes to COVID-19, conducts microbiological analyses, and assesses risks and developments of the outbreak. Health care, regional infectious disease control units and other stakeholders are informed about the current situation and the Agency also decides on what relevant measures to take. There is a close collaboration with other state agencies (e.g. Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and National Board of Health and Welfare), the regional infectious disease control units, as well as with the World Health Organization WHO, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control ECDC.
 
Ahh, so it’s not a stated plan, it’s just their current state of response is similar, which is why nothing recent came up when I was searching for herd immunity references to Sweden. As you said, a cultural thing.

It will be interesting to see what measures they take as things progress, especially after the surge from a large number of their citizens recently returning from Northern Italy.

This bit from the The Public Health Agency of Sweden site you shared makes me think they may fall in line with WHO guidance (whatever that is at the time).
Yeah it looks that way. No idea if the Swedish population are angry with a lack of their governments official stance being made public unless it has and we can't find it. The ECDO is in Stockholm i think so at least they have decent science on their doorstep. I can't find anything official statement wise currently on tv4 or even user owned youtube chans, google etc etc

They should all open a tin of surstromming, that would make the virus get the hell out of Sweden double quick hehe
 
Yeah it looks that way. No idea if the Swedish population are angry with a lack of their governments official stance being made public unless it has and we can't find it. The ECDO is in Stockholm i think so at least they have decent science on their doorstep. I can't find anything official statement wise currently on tv4 or even user owned youtube chans, google etc etc

They should all open a tin of surstromming, that would make the virus get the hell out of Sweden double quick hehe
Ha, I was in Malmö a little over a year go and am now thinking about that smell... covering people in it could definitely be an option for at least slowing transmission rates. ;-)

Oh, and I was also reminded of this sign which I thought should actually be interpreted as ‘Beware of Spaniards’, which the missus agreed was generally good health and safety advice.

A4-BC7-F22-1933-4825-ACC1-DAB9934-EA193.jpg
 
We did have herd immunity for measles and small pox prior to vaccination.

Small pox without herd immunity is what wiped out the aztecs and the Europeans accidentally exposed to it. 25-30% death rate.
We did NOT have herd immunity to smallpox prior to vaccination at all. 300m people died of smallpox alone in the 20th century despite vaccinations being used for the disease since the 1800’s and the fatality rate of those exposed to smallpox was still 25-30%.

One of the first methods (10th century onwards in China) for controlling the spread of smallpox was the use of variolation. Named after the virus that causes smallpox (variola virus), variolation is the process by which material from smallpox sores (pustules) was given to people who had never had smallpox. This was done either by scratching the material into the arm or inhaling it through the nose. With both types of variolation, people usually went on to develop the symptoms associated with smallpox, such as fever and a rash. However, fewer people died from variolation than if they had acquired smallpox naturally (1-2%). A major disadvantage of the practice was that variolated people could pass on severe smallpox to others.
 
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We did NOT have herd immunity to smallpox prior to vaccination at all. 300m people died of smallpox alone in the 20th century despite vaccinations being used for the disease since the 1800’s and the fatality rate of those exposed to smallpox was still 25-30%.

One of the first methods (10th century onwards in China) for controlling the spread of smallpox was the use of variolation. Named after the virus that causes smallpox (variola virus), variolation is the process by which material from smallpox sores (pustules) was given to people who had never had smallpox. This was done either by scratching the material into the arm or inhaling it through the nose. With both types of variolation, people usually went on to develop the symptoms associated with smallpox, such as fever and a rash. However, fewer people died from variolation than if they had acquired smallpox naturally (1-2%). A major disadvantage of the practice was that variolated people could pass on severe smallpox to others.


I wouldn't bother explaining it, it is well documented that centuries of using herd immunity for small pox failed until a vacine was developed as it did with measels.

But to those that are convinced that this method will work because the government think it and it has 'science' behind it are refusing to acknowledge the fact.

Until a vacine or at least some drug that protects against covid19 is developed then controling the spread is the best option.
 
NO. In normal people once you have it and recover you have immunity. Like all other coronaviruses. If it mutates then its a new strand and like all other viruses you wouldn't be immune but that's a new strand, not the same virus.
Thanks.
 
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