Last week, we saw Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria & Prince Daniel out and about in Stockholm, where they visited a laboratory which is working on tests and vaccines for the coronavirus. I made a point of talking about how Victoria and Daniel weren’t social distancing, which is something we’ve been seeing from other royals too – it feels like the royals in their 30s and 40s are maybe not taking the pandemic as seriously as they should be, and they’re not being the self-isolating, social distancing role models we need at this moment. Swedish commenters mentioned that, on the whole, Sweden has been hesitant to really ban big public gatherings and social distancing isn’t quite there yet in Sweden? But that was days ago, and since everything changes day by day, I would have hoped all European countries are getting with the program.
But for now, Victoria and Daniel continue to make public appearances. These photos are from Friday, where Vicky and Danny visited a military field hospital in Stockholm. Basically, the military is already preparing for Swedish hospitals to be overrun with coronavirus patients, thus “field hospitals.” And once again, it does not appear that the royals are social distancing? They’re standing further apart from the military dudes than they stood from the scientists just days earlier, but still – they’re not keeping six feet away from the military dudes. Mess!
The New York Times did a story about how Sweden “stands apart” from other Scandanavian countries and other European countries. Weeks ago, Denmark and Norway shut down their schools, borders, ski resorts and restaurants. All Sweden has done is shut down high schools and colleges, while leaving grade schools, nursery schools and businesses open. As of this weekend, Sweden had more than 3000 confirmed cases of the virus and more than 100 deaths from Covid-19, which seems about on par with other Scandanavian countries. Some think Sweden is making a dangerous gamble, and others think it will be an interesting test case, because the lack of lockdown and quarantine is so different than literally every other European country. We’ll see. I think it’s extraordinarily dumb to have Victoria and Daniel out, doing public events and refusing to socially distance though.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Dumb move.
It is dumb.
Daniel has a kidney transplant and takes anti rejection meds, that lower your immune system, so he’s really putting himself at risk. Good luck to him.
I had no idea. He has underlying issues and should defintitely social distance.
That said, if Sweden is stupidly choosing to be different from the rest of the world, then the royals are following their own country’s protocol. I wouldn’t expect them to be different.
This. Setting aside whatever we all personally think of Sweden’s policy-someone who is immunocompromised, who takes immuno suppressing meds is in a high risk group and def should NOT be out doing these kind of events.
Stop it! It’s not about you it’s about others and it’s about protecting your healthcare frontliners from breakdown!
Childish and reckless. Makes you wonder if they just can’t handle not being adored on a public stage, or if they’re just too stupid to consider what they’re doing could be making SO many people sick.
Victoria is fairly hard working (for a Royal) and has always seemed to take her duty pretty seriously. She’s not there because she is super vain. She’s there because the government wants her to be. It’s government propaganda to reassure people.
They should still have a sense of what’s right and what’s wrong, though. It’s one thing to go out for appearances or press things, but another to not properly keep distances between people. They have a responsibility to set an example. They shouldn’t be just gathering in big groups the way they are. And I’m sorry – but I have my doubts that the government can force someone who’s had an organ transplant and who’s on immuno-suppressants to purposely put themselves in harms way for propaganda purposes in a country like Sweden. These two could have drawn a line, and they chose not to by the looks.
@ainsley Thank You so much for saying so!
Spot on! Sadly!
Ah Sweden. Trying to make the UK look good.
Love this comment, thanks Ali, made my day!
Haha Ali…as a Swede I personally really appreciate you making light of it, as it is just SO DARK all this..
This made me smile. Much needed!
Sweden is being such a dick right now.
The situation is less severe in Finland and we still closed schools, borders, and now even access to the capital area from elsewhere in the country. I don’t see what Sweden is playing at.
My first thought was that they see themselves as superior, healthier, hardier, etc. than the rest of the world. They are definitely being stupid.
Crown princess Victoria and prince Daniel ARE following the recommendation from Swedish authorities. It has nothing to do with them being royal and between 30 and 40. The Swedish King and the Queen is however is in isolation since they are 70 + and in a high risk group. Also following the recommendations.
All of the royal family is complying to the recommendations from Swedish government and showing example in this way. Our recommendations are: isolate risk groups and help them stay isolated, avoid travelling, avoid gatherings of more than 50 people, work from home if possible. Wash hands often (for 20 seconds) and use alcogel. Cough in elbow, don’t touch eyes, nose, mouth. Stay at home if any symptoms of cold/flue or Covid 19 and isolate. And stay home 2 days after feeling ok. No visitation to hospitals or care homes. There will be more restrictions if needed, and we will comply. We trust that the authorities are imposing as much restrictions as they judge needed at any given moment. There is a plan and different parts of society are working togehter (the army, government departments, the parliament, health authorities etc.). And trying to avoid panic.
All countries are different with different age in population, health care systems, social rules, stage in Covid-19 pandemic, trust in Government and much more. I agree with Swedish authorities in this matter. Swedish people are good at following instructions/recommendations from authorities and we trust them (for most part). We are trying to level out the peak AND making sure that people can follow the restrictions for as long as possible (it will get harder and harder). And that as many parents of children in kindergarten and middle school as possible can work because they are needed. Especially in healthcare. We also hope to minimize the impact on the Economy by supporting businesses to stay open. Please don’t call us stupid or our Crown Princess stupid, it is a difference of opinion.
The BBC recently featured a short article re: Sweden’s response and it pretty much echoed your sentiments here. People who were interviewed (out & about) said that they pretty much trust the authorities and that sick and vulnerable people were self-isolating. However, I would Prince Daniel would fall into the vulnerable category due to his underlying health issues.
It’s true that he has a transplanted kidney, but I don’t think he would be there if they thought he was at risk. They have the best doctors and I think they are fairly sure that noone of the people they interact with is sick.
Risk groups according to authorities are: Age 70+ with Heartproblems, high blood pressure, lung diseases, diabetes. Transplanted people could have a higher risk.
Also as a comment on my own text. We have a great social security system in Sweden which is even improved since Corona. No first day pay deduction and you don’t need a doctors approval to stay at home more than 14 days, with about 80% of your pay. Which makes it a lot easier for us to not go work if we have any kind of symptom. And if you have kids you can stay at home for as long as they are sick while still keeping 80% of your pay. All of us also has access to free health care (much of it on-line/phone/videolink) which means that those who are sick can get help and instructions on where to go to avoid spreading the virus.
So if they’re following protocols, why is Daniel out?
I would never call the Swedish people stupid. They are following misguided advice. My town has been self isolating since March 17th, and yet the numbers go up everyday. Sweden will eventually have to change their policy. The US waited too long.
Please be safe, and follow the lockdown.
I know it’s tough and scary, but in Italy we are slightly starting to see the results of our efforts. Still locked but at least we see some small results, while our amazing doctors and nurses have started dying. God have mercy.
That’s exactly what the rest of the world was doing three weeks ago, and every health expert in the world is now saying that gradual steps are a really really bad idea. Sweden’s cases are going to go up. People are going to die. It’s not a difference of opinion.
Please stay safe everyone. And do what you need to do to not panic and to get through this. I just got a little agitated when some posts above called Victoria and Sweden not so nice things without knowing all that much about our country.
Wow. So far it didn’t work out anywhere else but maybe Sweden has special immunity. Let see. Why not to mentio how open letter was sent by scientists and doctors decrying yr government policy on covid 19
Exactly. If this is really Sweden’s plan OK, but you’d think after seeing basically every other country attempt to start with lower level restrictions and then be forced to escalate, the Swedish officials would realize the end game here.
They are social distancing at (at least) 1 meter away which is actually the official WHO recommendation, so I don’t know what the 6 feet comes from that the US is practicing but the recommendation worldwide is roughly 3.3 feet.
Most governments are saying 2 meters, so Sweden is the outlier. There are some new studies out showing that even that distance isn’t enough and it really should be closer to 3-4 meters to really be safe.
to clarify, when I said worldwide I meant that the World Health Organization’s recommendation technically applies worldwide, NOT that Sweden is doing what most other countries’ governments are doing.
The death rate and people who are infected with COVID-19 i pretty low in Sweden compared to other countries. Me and my family had a picknick in the sun yesterday. We kept a couple of meters distance from everyone we meet on the walk.
People who can work from home but since I’m a nurse I have to go to work.
Low? In Norway 32 people are dead of corona, while Swedens number is 146, the %-rate in Sweden are much higher than in Norway.
Good luck to them. From the outside looking in this is horribly dumb but hopefully things go better for Sweden than almost every other country.
We are not out and about as normal. The whole city is almost abandoned but we can take walks or sit outside if we keep a distance. People are adviced not to leave town and only do necessary errands.
It’s not like we live like we normally do, which is what other countries seem to be thinking.
Right now, ski resorts in Sweden are being kept open. In the north there are some resorts along the border to Norway where if somebody is infected by COVID-19 and have to go to hospital, it’s Norwegian health care workers who have to transport and treat them.
Not that I in general have anything against Norway and Sweden helping each other and working together in that matter. I just wish the two countries would come to a common understanding and practice in these areas.
And even though the death rate in Sweden is pretty low, it is still higher than it’s neighbours. ATM Sweden have had 146 deaths, Denmark, 77, Norway 31 and Finland 13.
Who knows how this all is going to turn out, but I really hope this more lenient strategy isn’t something Sweden will look back at and regret.
These appearances seem unnecessary, and I would think are more of a distraction than anything else – time, security, etc. Stay home and send a video message.
Sweden is following the Uk’s initial “herd immunity” plan. Let’s see how it goes for them.
I commented more on Sweden’s course of action before on the last Victoria and Daniel post, and I really have no idea if it will prove enough etc and don’t feel up to going over it all again…
But, saying that Sweden is being a dick is a little harsh though as it IS a scientifically based move, unlike some other countries’ actions which are (also) politically motivated.
That is not to say that the science (and people behind the findings and current and future results) might not be found at fault here. It is a big scary experiment for most of us at the moment..and one would assume that the risks are highest for Swedes if this goes wrong -you know, the same ones “being a dick” rn..
Anywhooo.. I just wanted to point out that between Sweden and Denmark, the latter actually (at time of writing) has a higher per capita death toll than Sweden despite having implemented heavy restrictions much earlier on. So to say that Denmark and Norway both have lower death rates, is only partially true @LK.
Also, seeing that Norway has less than half the death rate that Sweden (10,80 dead per 1 000 000 population) and Denmark (12,42 dead per 1 000 000) do, surely there are other factors at play here too.
On the topic of above per capita breakdown of total dead (which is a horrible thing to have to ever consider, and I hate that this is where things are at atm):
the US currently sits at 7,54 per 1 000 000
Norway at 4,70 per 1 000 000
The UK at 18,51 per 1 000 000
and Italy on 178,37 per 1 000 000.
Sweden’s public news service SVT update these (and any more countries’) numbers daily here, which can be found in English too: https://www.svt.se/datajournalistik/the-spread-of-the-coronavirus/
Stay safe everyone!
I would like to point out that Denmark is geographically a small country and it has a much higher per capita per square kilometer than Sweden, which has a much larger territory. In Denmark there are 137 inhabitants per square kilometer and in Sweden there are 25 inhabitants per square kilometer. Sweden has double the inhabitants of Denmark but 10 times the territory. Population density is a factor as well, a high population density makes it easier for the virus to spread.
Yes, of course that factors in. It was meant as a reply to LK who said the deaths were higher in Sweden than both Denmark and Norway and well, that depends on how you look at it.
Stockholm (population density 364.4/km²) has a much higher death rate than the rest of Sweden..not sure exactly of the numbers per 1 000 000 populations I suck at maths, but 88 people out of a population of ~2 377 000 whilst Skåne (which has a population density of 120/km²) has 7 dead out of a population of ~1 378 000)…so like I said, there are likely other factors at play here too.
Also, I really just want to post out that I am not trying to justify or argue for the actions being taken in Sweden, I am just trying to add statistics to counter certain arguments made in the comments here is all.
Tbh, to me the Swedish approach just is..we are way past whatever measures should have been taken early on, so now it just is. And I am sure it is really scary for all of us regardless, as this is completely out of control everywhere it seems. Although New Zealand is looking pretty good I must say, I am seriously considering moving there when this settles down (I have automatic permanent residency so may as well).
Copenhagen is the most afflicted in Denmark as well. Large cities are the hardest hit.
I think we are going to see the death rate rise pretty significantly in both Sweden and Denmark. The point of the Danish shutdown was to flatten the curve so the health system won’t collapse. They’ve been behind on testing here and it is necessary, especially in a country with a high population density. We can’t remain shutdown much longer. The PM has said that the plan is for the shutdown to be lifted after Easter, depending on the numbers.
Generally, people are pretty good a social distancing here in Copenhagen. However, I have seen several young people not doing it, which is a problem.
Sweden is just behind the rest of the world, they will eventually have to lock down. Weeks ago when the outbreak started in Seattle and NY state, people exposed to the virus were simply quarantining or shutting down business/schools that had infected individuals. Diblasio was in denial about shutting down all NYC schools. It became quite clear soon enough those measures weren’t preventative enough and it slowly dawned on US lawmakers more extreme action was necessary. Sweden is simply and will catch up.
I live in Sweden and when reading international media it seems like it’s business as usual in Sweden while in fact many many people are quarantining like the rest of the world. Schools are still open but only healthy children are allowed there and any child who displays any kind of symptom is immediately sent home. There are 26 children in my daughter’s class normally but the last few weeks they’ve been around 5-15 children.
My home town is much quieter than usual, no people in the cafés, restaurants or shops. People go outside still, but Swedes normally keep a pretty good distance between each other (we rarely hug, kiss etc.) We also live far apart, never with elderly relatives etc. I’m a stay at home mom and now that we’re in quarantine my neighborhood looks exactly like it does any given day when not in quarantine. There’s never any people out and about. The park is always empty. I saw a photo of a lone sunbather in Central Park the other day, and I thought to myself “that’s how my neighborhood park looks every day“.
GemCat above says it so much better than I can but as of today the amount of people infected and in intensive care in Sweden matches numbers in Norway, Denmark and Finland. So it seems drastic solutions haven’t made a difference for our neighboring countries yet. Our leading epidemiologists are trying to flatten the curve by imposing rules that people can abide by for a LONG time without tiring. I agree with them completely. Who knows if it’s the right choice, but I’d rather trust an epidemiologist than a politician, any day!
They’re reckless and risking the lives of their children but I read that Sweden like Belarus is in denial or a believer of the “herd immunity ” nonsense so they haven’t closed schools or stopped all public gatherings🤦♀️
I think looking at other countries that didn’t enact precautions ie US & Italy this is just not the smartest move. But I am also completely DONE with trying to protect and talk to people who aren’t going to listen.
But we have and are taking precautions. The streets of Sthlm is empty.
Highschools and Universities are closed and the students have their classes through internet. Everyone I know are working from home except from healthcare personen, people in foodstores, pharmacies, police, etc.
Schools for the younger (1-15yrs) are open because kids are less likely to get infected. Otherwise people like me (I’m a nurse) would have to stay home to take care of then.
My mom is in total isolation since she is over 70 yes. She sits on her veranda about an hour every day and I do all of the errands for her. I then leave her food outside her door and we wave through the window.
When I go to the pharmacy for her I have to stand behind a yellow line and then I put my identity card and a proxy form in a box so there is no contact.
In the foodstore there is a protective glass between me and the cashier.
Some people will never follow rules but most people follow the recommendations.
My patients are all eldery with atleast one illness and nobody except the staff are allowed to enter.
We have rules AND recommendations which most people respect.
Reading all of these posts from Swedish people defending the way this is being handled in their is kind of mind boggling. I’ve seen so many people mention that people are sent home from the school as soon as they show symptoms. Or that Victoria and Daniel clearly know if there are near someone who seems to be sick. Asymptomatic carriers may very well be the biggest group of virus spreaders!!! It almost seems like they’ve never heard of this. Which I know is ridiculous. So what gives? Waiting until someone shows symptoms means they have been spreading it for up to a week already! Which is literally the whole entire problem!
And of course then there are also people who are asymptomatic and also super spreaders. This is crazy. And so misguided. If every person goes out and infects three people, and then each of those people infect three people, and each of those people infect three people, etc. One person could literally in fact 1 million people in that way. All while showing no symptoms at all. Ever.
If we all just stayed away from people who looked sick and that solved the problem, we wouldn’t have the problem.
Kids might be less likely to get infected, but it’s JUST as likely that they get infected at the same rate but are more likely to be asymptomatic. And the evidence shows that they are very effective little carriers and spreaders. Having elementary schools open is absolutely asinine.
Sweden is about to have a major disaster on its hands. I hope they change course.
And yes, I have a right to an opinion on this. I am a teacher of children age 10, 11, and 12. I have COVID-19. It is almost certain I got it from one of them. None of them showed symptoms. But less than a week after school was canceled and we all went home, several of my students did test positive. So this is just moronic in my opinion.
Swedish people here on this site can come at me all they want. I just think this is a really bad course of action.
You have to remember that we acted earlier then Italy, The U.K, and definitly earlier in the US. Most of us have already been isolating at home for several weeks.
But yes, nobody knows what will happen in Sweden or in any other country, and 60-80% of the population will need/or have to before we have anyone kind of herd immunity, if scientists don’t come up with a vaccine. The important thing is to spread out the number of cases so that more resources is available for those who will need hospitalsation. Nobody knows what is the right course right now.
In the US there are a lot of people being at risk because of obesity and diabates, which is a riskfactor which worries me. We ofcourse have those problems here, but not as much. We also have a low restistens for antiobitics since the doctors only subscribe them unless nothing else works. The Covid-19 is a virus so antiobiotics won’t be a cure, but when becomes very ill because of the covid and get pneumonia they need antiotics since with so much flouid in the lugns bacteria will grow and we need to introducera antibiotics to the people who are critical ill. Italy has the heighest rate of people being resistent to antibiotics.
I listened to WHO’s pressconference last night and they talked about that let people out of isolation will mean more people getting infected again.
Therefor, the isolatation will need to be planes carefully.
It’s hard to know which is the best system right now.
My dad is american and 78 yrs old. My mom is 76 yrs (and have diabetes) and I worry for both of them, but I can’t say that I worry more for my mom then my dad
Their stupidity and lack of consideration for others aside, is Princess Vicky wearing combat boots???
Thank you @TheMummy for being the voice of reason in this, thank you. As a fellow teacher from France I salute you.
Since the beginning of this pandemic clear examples of what will happen were right in front of all governments eyes. Italy was crying its deaths while the whole world kept dancing. But it seems that each country thinks that strangely they’ll not be affected as much, and it makes me want to scream.
Why the hell wait for people to show symptoms when scientists keep repeating that asymptomatic carriers are the most dangerous, including children? So basically the children give it to the teachers who then transmit it to everyone they know. Yes, you can close schools, and keep essentials workers children at school, less children makes it more manageable for social distancing. It’s what we do here in France.
And yes we know the most sensible courses. There are two options: you massively test your population (like South Korea without lockdown) or you put your country on lockdown. Because no one wants that virus to spread. I don’t mean any disrespect to Swedish people but leaders/monarchs have to lead by example and royals going out to visit whatever it is, and not social distancing is for me a damn mistake.
We were just like Sweden here in France, what? Two weeks ago, look at us now, we are not the US (less diabetes and obesity), we have a good healthcare system, now we don’t have spaces to store the coffins of our grandparents, parents and friends.