In protecting the elderly, should Sweden follow Norway’s lead?
The Public Health Agency has described the situation at Sweden’s nursing homes, where a third of all Covid-19 deaths have occurred, as a major concern.
But while state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell believes Sweden should learn from Norway, an expert on elderly care issues in the Nordic region is not so sure they have got things right, either.
She is referring to figures from the London School of Economics, which show that, as of April 15th, nearly 64 percent of Norway’s 136 confirmed Covid-19 deaths had occurred in elderly care facilities. So while the overall death rate is significantly higher in Sweden, the proportion of fatalities at nursing homes is twice as high in Norway.
Listen to the report to hear more.
Related stories from around the North:
Arctic: Roundup of COVID-19 responses around the Arctic, Eye on the Arctic
Canada: Canadian government providing nearly $130M to help Arctic territories during pandemic, CBC News
Finland: First Covid-19 death reported in southwestern Finnish Lapland, Yle News
Greenland: COVID-19: Arctic science expedition postpones flight campaign after trainee tests positive for virus, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Norwegian Arctic wilderness tourism hit particularly hard by coronavirus, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Moscow disinforms about coronavirus, says press freedom organization, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: How different is Sweden’s coronavirus strategy to its Scandinavian neighbours?, Radio Sweden
United States: ‘A little frustrating’: Northwest Canada tours, Alaska cruises cancelled this year, Alaska Public Media
