Towns and municipalities across Sweden are banning facemasks in what some are saying is a highly-dangerous move that will endanger lives.
The ban comes in as Sweden continues to have a high-prevalence of the virus and less than 4% of the population have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
In Halmstad municipality things took an even more bizarre twist when authorities banned a teacher from wearing a facemask in school and banned any PPE from being used by students or teachers.
Tine Walravens, assistant professor in international economics at the Copenhagen Business School, and Paul O'Shea, senior lecturer in South-East Asian Studies at Lund University, wrote that the local bans are the result of:
"A logical product of nine months of consistent anti-mask statements by the Swedish state."
"The public health agency has consistently stated that masks are ineffective and that their use could actually increase the spread of Covid-19."
The advice given by Swedish health authorities is in direct contradiction to the advice from almost every other health authority in the world. The capital Stockholm is one of the few places where masks have been enforced, with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, saying:
"We recommend face masks and that they should be used on public transport at certain times."
The Swedish government's reaction to the pandemic has come in for stiff criticism from both within Sweden and within the international health community. Instead of imposing a strict lockdown like most countries, Swedes were advised to use their own judgement and avoid large crowds and gatherings, particularly indoors.
As a result of this, Sweden now has one of the highest infection and death rates in the world, and has fared far worse than their neighbouring Scandinavian countries. Sweden has a population of around 10 million people and has over 620,000 Covid-19 cases officially registered along with over 12,500 deaths. In neighbouring Norway, there has been almost 68,000 cases and only just over 600 deaths, while in Denmark to Sweden's south, there has been over 200,000 cases and around 2,500 deaths. Both Denmark and Norway have had strict lockdowns and encouraged mask-wearing.
In December, Swedish King Carl XVI Gustav said that Sweden's policies towards fighting the pandemic 'had failed'. In an interview with reporters, he said:
"Of course the fact that so many have died can't be considered as anything other than a failure. I think we have failed. We have a large number who have died and that is terrible. The people of Sweden have suffered tremendously in difficult conditions. One thinks of all the family members who have happened to be unable to say goodbye to their deceased family members. I think it is a tough and traumatic experience not to be able to say a warm goodbye."
[h/t: The Week]
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