Re:Anders Tegnell defends Sweden's virus approach
by alkonaut on Thursday June 04, 2020 @08:41AM
(#23415815)
> isolation of travelers from Italy and China began on February 21st, before any confirmed cases.
I think that was the case everywhere. What didn't work was that it wasn't just Italy (Wuhan was almost no travellers compared to Northern italy that had many thousands in that worst week alone).
Part of the problem was that a) While the travellers were told to isolate, especially if they had symptoms, you had Taxi drivers that took people from the airport who were already sick, caught the disease. It then exploded in the areas where taxi drivers live (where people live in very crowded apartments and often don't speak good swedish etc) and b) that it apparently came from many more places e.g. the US, Spain, France etc already at that time.
In hindsight, there should have been clear messaging that anyone returning from italy and several other locations should isolate, regardless of whether they had symptoms, and that they shouldn't take taxis or public transport when returning from the airport.
That's easier said than done though - if you do that you risk having thousands of sick people carrying skis, sitting at the airport not sure how to get home. That doesn't help either. So in hindsight, authorities should have arranged transports for these people too. But now as you can see it's becoming a pretty complex operation.
I think that was the case everywhere. What didn't work was that it wasn't just Italy (Wuhan was almost no travellers compared to Northern italy that had many thousands in that worst week alone).
Part of the problem was that a) While the travellers were told to isolate, especially if they had symptoms, you had Taxi drivers that took people from the airport who were already sick, caught the disease. It then exploded in the areas where taxi drivers live (where people live in very crowded apartments and often don't speak good swedish etc) and b) that it apparently came from many more places e.g. the US, Spain, France etc already at that time.
In hindsight, there should have been clear messaging that anyone returning from italy and several other locations should isolate, regardless of whether they had symptoms, and that they shouldn't take taxis or public transport when returning from the airport.
That's easier said than done though - if you do that you risk having thousands of sick people carrying skis, sitting at the airport not sure how to get home. That doesn't help either. So in hindsight, authorities should have arranged transports for these people too. But now as you can see it's becoming a pretty complex operation.