Pandemic report: Sweden’s elderly were unprotected

STOCKHOLM — Sweden’s government failed to protect the elderly sufficiently in care homes from COVID-19 and is responsible for the pandemic’s effects in the country, according to an official report released Tuesday.

The Scandinavian country has stood out among European and other nations for the way it has handled the pandemic, for long not mandating lockdowns like others but relying on citizens’ sense of civic duty.

But an independent commission that looked into Sweden’s handling of the pandemic said Tuesday that Swedish elderly care has structural shortcomings and authorities proved unprepared and ill-equipped to meet the pandemic. Nearly half the country’s COVID-19 deaths have been in care homes.

The head of the commission, Mats Melin, said the blame for structural shortcomings in Sweden’s health care system could be placed on several authorities and organizations.

“But we still want to say that the government governs the country and that the ultimate responsibility therefore rests with the government and previous governments,” Melin said.

Swedish authorities reacted to the pandemic by advising people to practice social distancing, but most schools, bars and restaurants have been kept open.

Yet, the country of just over 10 million has seen 341,029 confirmed infections and 7,667 virus-related deaths, a death toll much higher than in neighbors Norway, Finland or Denmark.

Despite Sweden having one of the highest per capita COVID-19 death rates in the world, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven’s government and chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell have defended the controversial coronavirus strategy as sustainable in the long-term. But they have admitted failures to protect the elderly and nursing home residents.

Tuesday’s report said Sweden’s Nordic neighbors paid more attention to elderly citizens’ care.