Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Sweden changes advice on facemasks

It’s still rejecting lockdown. But how long for?

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, picture credit: Getty

Big news in Sweden this afternoon where Stefan Löfven, the Prime Minister, has just tightened Covid-19 restrictions. Still no lockdown, but there’s now a rule of four for restaurants (it had previously been six) and an 8pm curfew on sale of alcohol in bars and restaurants (it had been 10pm). A cap is to be placed on numbers in shops, gyms and swimming pools: universities and sixth-forms will switch to remote learning until 24 January. But beyond that there are no new laws (or restrictions for private property). Löfven said he still has faith that Swedes will respond to his voluntary approach. ‘I hope and believe that everyone in Sweden understands the seriousness,’ he said.

But one big change: it is to recommend that face masks are be worn on public transport – albeit only at certain times. Given Sweden’s status as pretty much the only country in the Western world not to recommend masks, this is quite a turnaround. In Sweden – as in Scotland and England – it was politicians who moved to recommend what certain scientists had previously said were unnecessary. Since the start of the pandemic, policy has been decided by the Public Health Agency and the face of the Covid-19 response has been Anders Tegnell, the chief epidemiologist. He wasn’t present today: instead an ashen-faced Löfven was joined by Tegnell’s boss, Johan Carlson, director-general of the Public Health Agency and also a longstanding sceptic of both lockdown and masks.

In the press conference, journalists sought to tease out what Carlson made of the u-turn. He said it’s just advice: ‘there are no sanctions, just recommendations’  – so police, it seems, will not enforce mask-wearing as they do in Britain. Carlson went on to restate his problem with masks: they can give a false sense of security, not much protection and discourage social distancing he said.

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