In the intensive care unit of Stockholm, free beds ended, but the authorities still do not introduce Lokdown. The constitution interferes with them

Sweden survived the explosive growth of deaths during the first wave of Pandemia of Coronavirus, but in August-September 2020 everything changed for the better-in the country only about 300 new cases of disease per day were recorded, and deaths were single. At the same time, the Sweden authorities never introduced strict quarantine measures over the year, did not close the enterprises and did not limit the movement of citizens. The Swedish model seemed to be successful against the background of the rest of Europe, when even with the hard Locksa, Germany, France and Spain could not hold back the second wave. The chief epidemiologist of Sweden Anders Tegnell explained a similar result by acquired collective immunity and said that by winter it expects an increase in incidence in separate foci. Now the kingdom of 7514 related to the coronavirus of deaths (about 1,500 of them fell on November-December) and 320 thousand cases, and the Stockholm administration officially speaks of the collapse of the healthcare system and asks for humanitarian aid from colleagues from Northern Europe.

"We need help"

Last Friday, the head of the Stockholm Health Department Björn Ericksson went to reporters with a non -reversing report: 814 covid beds are already engaged in the capital's hospitals, and the number of sick people is growing. At the peak of a spring outbreak - for comparison - the city health system accepted 1,100 patients, but then the army helped civilian doctors.

Almost 2400 patients with coronavirus were hospitalized throughout the country, which is already more than April.

There are 90 patients in intensive care units. “In general, this figure corresponds to the number of all resuscitation beds that we have,” said Ericksson. “We need help.” According to Dagens Nyheter, 99% of Ivl devices are involved in the capital.

Norway has already responded to the call of the Stockholm official. The authorities of a neighboring country are ready to send doctors to Sweden and humanitarian assistance at the request. Doctors from Finland can come to Stockholm. However, while the Swedish doctors are waiting for help from the “at least hundreds” of colleagues, the government is in no hurry to send official requests and wants to coordinate humanitarian aid through a national plan.

10 months of work for 12 hours in personal protective equipment and the impossibility of the authorities to go to strict restrictions caused protest by medical personnel - according to the SVT GOSTELECORPORPANT, in the incomplete year of the Pandemia from Sweden hospitals, 3,600 employees were fired (usually a reduction in the medical staff throughout the country is at an mark of 900 people a year).

Unlike other Europeans, the Swedes can spend Christmas holidays in the usual format - with purchases (as it was during Black Friday, after which there was a new explosive increase in incidence), celebrations and campaigns to public places. Stockholm doctors do not understand why residents of the country do not follow the recommendations. “Drinking after work, Christmas purchases and meetings with friends are not worth it. The consequences will be terrible, ”says Ericksson.

Bureaucracy is above all

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Swedish government has not made decisions on quarantine and any other anti -epidemic measures in the country. The search for approaches to a crisis situation was completely given to the country's public health agency and the chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who is also often called the architect of the “Swedish strategy”. Tegnell is sure that Lokdown is a temporary measure that will not help overcome the consequences of the pandemic in the long run. In addition, from the very beginning he relied on population immunity, believing that the heavy first wave would be a guarantee of rapid recovery in winter. Tegnell, in particular, also spoke about this in an interview with Novaya Gazeta.

Until November 2020, the government was jointly with medical authorities, but then it began to step by step away from the strategy of an open society:

At first, the authorities introduced a ban on the sale of alcohol after 22.00 and limited public meetings a group of eight people, and then Prime Minister Stefan Lyven still ordered to close high school. TEGNELLE previously opposed the closure of schools:

“In schools where children study until the 9th grade, that is, up to 15 years, the virus almost does not spread. They were opened the entire spring period, and nothing happened. Now, when we open high school with children 16-19 years old, we can observe cases of infection, but it is not dangerous-children do not get sick seriously, they do not need hospitalization or any treatment, ”he said to“ New ”in August.

Now the legal system of Sweden does not allow the Cabinet of Ministers to introduce a total Lokdown and limit the work of the business, as Germany, for example, did, where Chancellor Angel Merkel, for general federal decisions, only needs to be held with the heads of local governments.

The Swedish Constitution does not prohibit the restriction of the freedom of movement or the work of enterprises in principle, but it does not allow the government to do this without the support of the parliament. The Cabinet of Ministers may change the basic law or try to conduct a new draft through Riksdag, but in both cases the process will take months.

In the spring, the parliament urgently approved a temporary addition to the law on countering infectious diseases. The new provisions gave the Cabinet of Ministers the opportunity to close the catering, but then the country's political authority did not take advantage of the authority, since none of the medical managers gave recommendations to close the enterprises. Now the urgently adopted amendments cannot be applied - their validity was limited to three months.

“It [addition to the law] was aimed at overcoming the first stage of pandemic. Then it became clear that it would be much easier to amend the law on public catering, which regulates a separate industry. We took into account this experience, ”said Expressen, the head of the Ministry of Health Lena Hallengren.

Despite the fact that the vaccination against the Covid-19 will begin in Sweden already in January, Hallengren and other ministers, with the support of the Left-Gentrist bloc, decided to submit a bill on Lokdown to the parliament-after a year of the fight against pandemia without prohibitions.

The new law gives the Cabinet of Ministers the authority to independently close the areas of trade and services, as well as limit the movement of citizens and introduce fines for violation of quarantine.

If the parliament will act according to the usual procedure, Sweden will be able to introduce its first Lockdown only in the summer. The government hopes that deputies will approve the bill to March. True, these strict measures will be strictly limited - the absolute government of the government on public life will be able to operate only until March 2022, and if the pandemic does not end even then, politicians will have to think about new initiatives.